The Americans got involved reaction to Meta’s decision to end its fact-checking program this week, with some telling Fox News Digital that the move was concerning.
“Freedom of speech should be absolute,” one respondent told Fox News Digital in Texas. “I don’t think anyone has the authority to censor anyone.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Wednesday that it will end its fact-checking program and lift restrictions on speech to “restore free expression” on Facebook, Instagram and other Meta platforms, admitting that its current content moderation practices are “gone too far.” Zuckerberg said the new system for Meta would be similar to Elon Musk’s Community Notes on X.
“I like the fact that we got rid of the fact checkers. The fact checkers didn’t really do much fact checking, just whoever paid them to check the facts,” Rudy told Fox News Digital. “It sounds to me like they can’t be trusted. The same thing, just dialed down, a little late to do that. But I think it’s better than what they had.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that his company will adopt a new fact-checking system similar to Community Notes on Elon Musk’s X. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Other Americans told Fox News Digital that the announcement was disappointing.
“This disappoints me, because you want all your social media to be fact-checked as best as possible to get accurate information. It really worries me that Facebook can’t, you know, go through that fact-checking process, like and should. , I believe,” said Greg to Fox News Digital.
Meta’s third-party fact-checking program was put in place after the 2016 election and had been used to “manage content” and misinformation on its platforms, largely through “pressure politics,” say the leaders, but admit that the system is “also gone.” away”.
Several people told Fox News Digital they hadn’t heard about Meta’s announcement.
Facebook app on smartphone. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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“Honestly, a couple of years ago, I probably would have said, “Well, it’s a private company. They have the right to do what they want and people should use their brains to understand what is right and what is not, what is true. .’ But, I’m a psychology student, and I’m starting to realize that people don’t always stop and think for themselves, so maybe they need someone else to check the facts,” Melissa said.
Fox News Digital also asked Texas residents about Zuckerberg’s move Meta content moderation team to his state.
“Yeah, we’ll give it a shot and see what the outcome is,” Greg said. “I dropped all my social media, you know, just because it’s not fact-checked and it’s not as political as I believe it should be.”
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Another Texan, Madeline, told Fox News Digital that Zuckerberg was most likely moving to Texas because businesses are “easier to run” in the state and questioned his reasoning for moving his operation from California.
Elizabeth Heckman reported from Texas.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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2025-01-10 10:00:00
