The meta introduces an important X-like change

Flattering Trump or taking care of customers: Meta is introducing an important X-like change

Meta is abandoning the use of independent fact-checkers on Facebook and Instagram, replacing them with “user notes” similar to those on the X platform, where the accuracy of posts is left to users, the portal writes. WebMind.

In a video released alongside the company’s blog post on Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that “third parties are too politically biased” and that “it’s time to return to their free expression roots.”

The move comes as Zuckerberg and other tech leaders try to improve relations with US President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office at the end of this month.

Trump and his Republican allies have criticized Meta for its fact-checking policy, calling it censorship of right-wing voices. Speaking after the changes were announced, Trump told a news conference that he was impressed by Zuckerberg’s decision and that Meta had “progressed.”

Facebook (Unsplash)

When asked if Zuckerberg was “directly responding” to threats that Trump had previously made against him, the future US president replied: “Probably.”

Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican who is taking over from Nick Clegg as Meta’s global head, wrote that the company’s reliance on independent moderators proved to be “well-intentioned” but too often led to censorship.

Activists against online hate speech have reacted with concern to this change, suggesting that the real motive is to curry favor with Trump.

“Zuckerberg’s announcement is a clear attempt to ingratiate himself with the incoming Trump administration — with damaging consequences,” said Ava Lee of Global Witness, a group that advocates for the accountability of big tech companies.

Target, actions

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Actions (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

“Claiming to avoid ‘censorship’ is a political move to avoid responsibility for the hate and misinformation that platforms encourage and enable,” she added.

Platform X emulation

Meta’s current fact-checking program, introduced in 2016, refers posts that appear false or misleading to independent organizations to assess their credibility. Posts flagged as incorrect may receive labels that offer additional information to viewers and be moved lower in users’ feeds.

It will now be replaced by “US first” community notes. Meta says it has “no immediate plans” to abolish third-party fact-checkers in the UK or the EU.

The new community notes system is taken from the X platform, which introduced it after Elon Musk bought it and renamed it. The system includes users of different views who agree on notes that add context or clarification to controversial posts.

“This is cool,” Musk said of Meta’s adoption of a similar mechanism.

After concerns were raised about content related to self-harm and depression, Meta clarified that there would be no “changes in the way we treat content that promotes suicide, self-harm and eating disorders.”

Fact-checking organization Full Fact – which participates in Facebook to Europe’s publication vetting program – said she “refutes allegations of bias” leveled at her profession.

The organization’s director general, Chris Morris, described the change as “a disappointing step backwards that risks creating a chilling effect around the world.”

‘Facebook Jail’

In addition to content moderators, fact checkers sometimes describe themselves as the Internet’s emergency services. However, Meta’s management concluded that they had intervened too much.

“Too much innocuous content gets censored, too many people are unfairly put in ‘Facebook Jail,’ and too often we react too late when it happens,” Kaplan wrote Tuesday.

However, Meta admits that there is a certain risk – Zuckerberg stated in his video that the changes represent a “compromise”.

“This means we’ll catch less bad stuff, but we’ll also reduce the number of innocent people’s posts and accounts we accidentally remove,” he said.

This approach contrasts with recent regulations in the UK and Europe, where big tech companies are being forced to take greater responsibility for the content they publish, or face hefty fines. So it’s not surprising that Meta’s move in this direction is currently limited to the US.

Read more about this topic on the portal WebMind.

Source: BIZLife

Photo: Unsplash/Freepik/Beta/AP

Source: bizlife.rs