Name: Meta Ends Fact-Checking Program in US, Introduces X-style Community Notes
Uploaded: 2025-01-08T14:09:21.000Z
Description: Meta is ending its fact-checking program in the United States and replacing it with community notes, similar to the system used by Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, the company announced on Jan. 7.

Andrew Thomas is a reporter for NTD News primarily covering business, the economy, and technology. 

Andrew Thomas

NTD Plus

News

Breaking news and in-depth analysis from the United States and beyond. We bring you the latest updates, exclusive insights, and sharp discussions on the most pressing issues. NTD Newsroom airs Monday–Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

NTD Newsroom

Senate Commerce Committee Advances Kids Online Safety Act

Don Ma is an anchor and senior business correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Don is the anchor and producer of NTD's "Business Matters," which airs weekdays at 4:30 pm ET.

Don Ma

Panelists: Electorate Is Driving Democratic Party’s Sway Towards Far Left

El-Sayed Won’t Beat Rogers in Midterms: Michigan GOP Gubernatorial Candidate

Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at zack.stieber@epochtimes.com

Zachary Stieber

US News

Politics

Congress

Senate Confirms Trump Pick for CDC Director

Arleen Richards is NTD's legal correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers all major legal stories. Arleen holds a Doctor of Law (J.D.).


Arleen Richards

Government Grocery Stores Risks Making Affordability Worse: Economic Policy Researcher

Michigan Reports 11,508 Cyclosporiasis Cases Amid Outbreak

NJ Sues Amazon Over Alleged Antitrust Practices Affecting Delivery Drivers

Blanche Is ‘Uniquely Qualified’ to Tackle the Weaponization of the Justice System: Political Strategist

Union Voters May Swing Michigan Democrat Primary: Panel

Paul Greaney is an NTD news anchor and producer. Since joining the company in 2018, he has anchored the station’s flagship Evening News broadcast, launched the NTD Business show, and produced documentary reports on pointed issues. 

The highlight of Paul’s time in the field was his coverage of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Paul Greaney

High or Low Turnout in Michigan Will Influence Likelihood of Fringe Candidates’ Success: Political History Expert

NTD Newsroom Full Broadcast (Aug. 5)

NTD Newsroom Full Broadcast (Aug. 4)

NTD Newsroom Full Broadcast (Aug. 3)

NTD Newsroom Full Broadcast (July 31)

NTD Newsroom Full Broadcast (July 30)

NTD Newsroom Full Broadcast (July 29)

NTD Newsroom Full Broadcast (July 28)

NTD Newsroom Full Broadcast (July 27)

NTD Newsroom Full Broadcast (July 24)

NTD Newsroom Full Broadcast (July 23)

NTD Movies

NTD+ Movies

The Unrestricted War

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

Cyber Defense Agency Warns Hackers Are Increasingly Targeting Water Systems

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

Shows

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

2.8 Million People in China Evacuated Amid Typhoon Bavi

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


US Announces Visa Restrictions Targeting Cybercriminals

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

House Passes Legislation to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Florida Ticket Wins $800 Million Mega Millions Jackpot

Troy Myers is a regional reporter based in St. Augustine, Florida. His background includes breaking, criminal justice, and investigative writing for local news, producing on a national morning newscast in Washington, D.C., and working with an award-winning, weekly investigative news program. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his dog at the beach.

Troy Myers

Jason Perry is an Army veteran and NTD's national security correspondent. Jason primarily covers border security, national defense, foreign wars, and veterans' issues.

Jason Perry

Courts

Appeals Court Upholds Block on Trump Order to Tighten Mail-In Voting, Citizenship Verification

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

Melina Wisecup is NTD's congressional correspondent based in Washington, covering Capitol Hill and campaign politics.

Melina Wisecup

Sen. Lindsey Graham Likely Died After Aorta Tear, Medical Examiner Says

Bringing you the latest videos, livestreams, and premieres.


NTD Videos

Label

Live

NTD+ Live

Trump Makes an Announcement on Freedom Hauler in the White House

Jackson Richman is a Washington correspondent for The Epoch Times. In addition to Washington politics, he covers the intersection of politics and sports/sports and culture. He previously was a writer at Mediaite and Washington correspondent at Jewish News Syndicate. His writing has also appeared in The Washington Examiner. He is an alum of George Washington University.

Jackson Richman

House Passes Defense Policy Bill That Attaches SAVE America Act

Meta is ending its fact-checking program in the United States and replacing it with community notes, similar to the system used by Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, the company announced on Jan. 7.

After President-elect Donald Trump was elected in 2016, Meta started a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/formedia/blog/third-party-fact-checking-how-it-works/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">fact-checking program</a>. Third parties would tackle some topics, leading to posts being removed or flagged.

“It’s time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DEhf2uTJUs0/">said</a> in a video.

The fact-checkers “have become too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they created, especially in the U.S.,” Zuckerberg said.

Community notes are based on feedback from users. Notes that receive a certain number of votes across people with different ideologies are displayed under posts.

The notes “empower their community to decide when posts are potentially misleading and need more context, and people across a diverse range of perspectives decide what sort of context is helpful for other users to see,” Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2025/01/meta-more-speech-fewer-mistakes/">said</a> in a Jan. 7 blog post.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, is also simplifying its content policies by removing rules related to topics such as immigration and gender.

The rules “are just out of touch with mainstream discourse,” Zuckerberg said. “What started as a movement to be more inclusive has increasingly been used to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas. And it’s gone too far.”

He added later: “I want to make sure people can share their experiences and beliefs on our platform.”

While Meta will still act the same when it comes to severe violations for topics such as drugs, the company will only act against posts that are deemed low severity if people report the post. In the past, Meta used its systems to scan the platform for violations and took action against posts that violated its policies.

The change will result in fewer bad posts being taken down, but will also reduce accidental takedowns, Zuckerberg said, as mistakes have been made.

“Even if they accidentally censor just one percent of posts, that’s millions of people. And we’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship,” Zuckerberg said.
<h2>More Politics</h2>
Meta has largely stopped showing political content to users, citing user feedback.

“[W]e won’t proactively recommend content about politics on recommendation surfaces across Instagram and Threads,” the company <a href="https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/continuing-our-approach-to-political-content-on-instagram-and-threads">said</a> in 2024.

People have been telling Meta officials recently that they want to see more political content, according to Zuckerberg, so Meta will be phasing political content back into feeds.

“We don’t want to get between people and the posts they may find valuable, and after testing various approaches to political content in recent years we will begin to treat it more like other types of content on our platforms,” Meta <a href="https://transparency.meta.com/features/approach-to-political-content">said</a> in a statement.

That includes recommending political posts to users who give off signals that they want to see such content, Kaplan said.

Meta is also shifting its content moderation team out of California, where the company is headquartered, to Texas. The hope is that the shift will help restore confidence in the team, Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg, who recently met with Trump, also said that Meta will be working with the president-elect to push back against governments around the world that are seeking to censor people, including the Chinese Communist Party. Zuckerberg said it’s been difficult during the Biden administration because even the U.S. government has been advocating for censorship, which he said has “emboldened” other governments.

“I’m looking forward to this next chapter,” Zuckerberg said.

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/meta-ends-fact-checking-program-in-us-introduces-x-style-community-notes-5787499">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Latest

Science &amp; Tech

Videos

01_Lead Story

04_Top Stories

Premium Picks

Latest Clips

program

Management

Meta Ends Fact-Checking Program in US, Introduces X-style Community Notes

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (Aug 6)

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

News with integrity, from the United States and around the world. Focused reports and analyses that shed light on major issues the world deserves to know. NTD Evening News airs daily at 6 p.m. ET.