Outgoing President Biden addressed CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision to end the fact-checking program on Meta's platform, saying this is because “telling the truth is important.” He said it was a “truly shameful” choice.
“I think the whole idea of moving away from fact-checking and not reporting anything that has to do with discrimination is contrary to American justice. It's important to tell the truth,” Biden said Friday in the Roosevelt Room. He spoke to reporters during an unexpected and unusual question and answer session.
“I don't know what that is all about. It's completely contrary to American ideals,” he added. “We want to tell the truth. The idea that a billionaire buys something and says he doesn't fact-check it and then millions of people read it is a real shame.” I think so.”
Zuckerberg announced in a video on Tuesday that Meta would be removing fact-checking features and making other content moderation policy changes on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Threads, which are used by billions of people every day. did.
“First, we are going to abolish fact checkers and replace them with community notes similar to X, starting with the US,” the tech billionaire said, adding that the 2024 presidential election was the main reason for the decision.
“The recent election feels like a cultural tipping point in favoring speech again,” Zuckerberg said. “That's why we're going back to basics and focusing on reducing mistakes, simplifying policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms.”
In an interview with USA Today published Wednesday, Biden said his biggest regret was not being able to counter misinformation, including claims made by his former political opponent and successor, President-elect Trump.
During an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” on Friday, Zuckerberg said that if current administration officials do not agree to the administration's requests to remove content related to the COVID-19 pandemic, He said he would “abuse” and “scream” at the employees.
Ahead of President Trump's inauguration on January 20th, Meta has made some significant changes internally. The tech giant told employees on Friday that it was laying off its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team and rolling back related programs, citing the evolving “legal and policy landscape” in the country.
