Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is finally scrapping its U.S. fact-checking program, admitting to years of politically biased moderation as it pivots toward a more crowd-sourced model.
AT A GLANCE
- Meta is officially ending its U.S. fact-checking program, replacing it with a Community Notes-style system.
- Mark Zuckerberg admitted the system had become “too politically biased.”
- The change comes amid political shifts and prior notification to Trump officials.
- Meta’s content moderation operations are moving from California to Texas.
- Critics see the move as a strategic retreat rather than a genuine shift in values.
Meta Dismantles Its Fact-Checking Arm
In a stunning admission, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that the company’s much-criticized fact-checking program had been marred by political bias. As a result, Meta will disband the program in the U.S., ending all new fact-checks and dissolving its team of fact-checkers by next week. In their place, Meta will introduce a community-driven notes system modeled after Elon Musk’s “Community Notes” on X, formerly Twitter.
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, announced the change as a way to “undo the mission creep” of overly restrictive policies. “By Monday afternoon, our fact-checking program in the US will be officially over,” Kaplan confirmed, according to RedState.
The shift comes amid major political changes, with Donald Trump back in office. Meta executives reportedly informed members of Trump’s administration about the policy change before making it public, signaling a new alignment with the White House’s priorities on free speech and platform accountability.
Pivot to “Community Notes”
The replacement system, which will roll out gradually across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, will display user-generated context notes without imposing any content penalties. In a marked shift, Meta is embracing the decentralized moderation model it once criticized. “I think Elon’s played an incredibly important role in moving the debate and getting people refocused on free expression,” Kaplan said, referencing Musk’s influence on the evolving tech landscape.
Zuckerberg echoed this sentiment, telling the New York Times, “[It’s] time to get back to our roots around free expression.” The comment contrasts sharply with Meta’s past content policies, which drew fire from conservatives for allegedly suppressing dissenting viewpoints, including stories related to COVID-19, election integrity, and the Hunter Biden laptop saga.
Watch Joel Kaplan announce the end of fact-checking on Meta platforms.
Political Blowback and Relocation to Texas
While Meta’s move is being hailed by free speech advocates, others view it as a calculated retreat. As regulatory scrutiny mounts, especially under a more adversarial federal administration, Meta appears to be repositioning itself rather than fully reforming. The decision to move content moderation teams from California to Texas underscores this shift in posture, reflecting a desire to operate in a more politically and culturally sympathetic environment.
Despite public contrition, some at Meta continue to defend the past system. Neil Brown of the Poynter Institute, which worked with Meta on fact-checking, stated, “I don’t believe we were doing anything, in any form, with bias,” according to the New York Times. Yet Zuckerberg himself has conceded that warnings from the FBI about Russian disinformation in 2020 led the platform to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story — a decision now widely regarded as a misstep.
Strategic Retreat or Sincere Reform?
Whether Meta’s decision marks a sincere recommitment to free expression or a tactical adaptation remains up for debate. The company’s history of tight narrative control and cooperation with federal agencies has undermined public trust, particularly among conservatives. Critics argue that the dismantling of the fact-checking system is more about avoiding political backlash than promoting open discourse.
Still, for those who have long sounded alarms over Big Tech censorship, the end of Meta’s fact-checking program is a tangible — if belated — victory. As Zuckerberg and his team look to rehabilitate the platform’s image, the true test will be whether they can maintain transparency and resist the urge to reintroduce narrative controls under a new guise.
