Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday that the company is swinging away from its efforts to corral its content. Meta is suspending its fact-checking program to move to an X-style Community Notes model on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. We go into detail on the changes Meta promised, but is the company attempting to court the new Trump presidency?
Well, alongside donating to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, replacing policy chief Nick Clegg with a former George W. Bush aide and even adding Trump’s buddy (and UFC CEO) Dana White to its board… yeah. Probably.
Meta blocked Trump from using his accounts on its platforms for years after he stoked the flames of the attempted coup of January 6, 2021. At the time, Zuckerberg said, “His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world.”
But who cares about that when you could get some sweet favor with the incoming administration? Zuckerberg, who revealed the change on Fox News, said Trump’s election win is part of the reasoning behind Meta’s policy shift, calling it “a cultural tipping point” on free speech. He said the company will work with Trump to push back against other governments, including China.
He added, “Europe has an ever-increasing number of laws institutionalizing censorship and making it difficult to build anything innovative there.” It’s not innovative to copy everything rival social networks do, Mark. Also, pay your fines, Mark.
Alongside Zuckerberg’s video, Meta had a blog post — “More Speech and Fewer Mistakes” — detailing incoming changes and policy shifts — or more lies and fewer consequences.
— Mat Smith
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