Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said in response to Zuckerberg's decision this week to allow free speech on the heavily censored platform. The company has come under fire from both the Supreme Court and its own employees.
Breitbart News recently reported that in a major change to its content moderation strategy, Meta announced major changes to what content is allowed on its platform and how it is moderated. The decision aims to prioritize freedom of expression and eliminate highly biased third-party “fact-checker” programs, including Meta employees and independent oversight board co-chair Helle Thorning-Schmidt. is facing backlash from
talk bbc radio 4 today's programFormer Danish Prime Minister Thorningschmidt expressed concern about the potential impact of these changes. She welcomed certain aspects of the revamp, such as the introduction of “community notes” where users can provide feedback on the accuracy of posts, but stressed there were “major problems” with the overall announcement.
Thorning-Schmidt emphasized her thoughts on the risks to the LGBTQ+ community, as well as gender and transgender rights. She warned: “We are seeing many examples of how hate speech can cause real-life harm, so we will be monitoring this area closely.”
Mark Zuckerberg defended the decision in a video posted alongside the company's blog post, claiming the move was motivated by a desire to return to the company's roots in promoting free expression. . He argued that the current system of third-party fact-checkers is “too politically biased” and results in too many users being censored. The ruling also raises questions about the future of Meta's Oversight Board, commonly referred to as Facebook's “Supreme Court,” which is overwhelmingly left-wing in its political leanings.
CNBC report The content policy changes announced by Joel Kaplan, Meta's new chief global affairs officer and former White House deputy chief of staff under former President George W. Bush, also received feedback from Meta employees. It is said to have caused internal criticism. Employees on the company's internal communication tool Workplace voiced concerns about the company's decision to end third-party fact-checking just two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
One worker wrote that he was “deeply concerned” about the decision, saying Meta was “sending a bigger and stronger message to people that facts no longer matter and confusing that with a victory for free speech.” “It seems like it's happening,” he said. Another employee commented, “Simply absolving them of their obligation to at least try to create a safe and appropriate platform is a really sad direction.”
Other comments expressed concern about the impact the policy change would have on discourse around topics such as immigration and gender identity, with one employee saying it would result in “more racist and transphobic content.” There is a possibility that there will be an “influx.” Another employee said he feared “we are entering really dangerous territory by paving the way for further spread of misinformation.”
The change was not widely criticized, with some Meta employees celebrating the company's decision to end third-party fact-checking. One person wrote that X's community notes feature “proved to be a better representation of the truth.”
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News, covering free speech and online censorship issues.
