Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has told the world his social media platforms Facebook and Instagram will overhaul their content moderation policies.
Meta will replace third-party fact-checkers with a user-driven 'community notes' system similar to that employed at Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), and one praised by the fellow tech billionaire.
Reversal of direction
It’s a stark change in direction for ‘Zuck’, who only a few years ago was trying to repair Facebook’s tarnished reputation in the wake of Cambridge Analytica and other misinformation scandals – and they seem to coincide with an apparent ideological shift within the company’s leadership.
The announcement comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, with Zuckerberg facing long-standing criticism from conservative voices for alleged censorship.
“Fact-checkers have been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created,” Zuckerberg said in his video statement.
Harmful content could emerge
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the new approach would lead to more harmful content appearing on the platform.
Meta will recalibrate its automated moderation systems to focus only on detecting illegal and severe violations, such as terrorism, child exploitation and fraud.
The company plans to move its trust and safety teams from California to Texas and other sympathetic US locations.
Restrictions on topics like immigration and gender identity will be eased – journalists in the US have pointed out that it will now be okay to refer to women as ‘household objects’, for example.
The policy shift follows other indications that Meta’s leadership is eager to appease conservative critics.
The company’s new chief of global affairs is Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican, who pointed out that these adjustments align with the incoming Trump administration’s priorities.
Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White, a Trump ally, has been added to Meta’s board of directors.
Zuckerberg has, like several other tech billionaires, pledged considerable funds – in Zuckerberg’s case $1 million – to Trump’s inaugural fund.
All of this has drawn the ire of civil rights groups and Meta’s own independent accountability organisations.
Layoffs ahead
This content moderation shift coincides with broader organisational changes at Meta, including plans to cut around 5% of its workforce – some 3,600 employees.
After what could be described as a lowering of the content bar, Zuckerberg described the workforce cuts as raising the bar on performance management.
These cuts follow mass layoffs in 2022 and 2023 that reduced Meta’s workforce by thousands.