Two prominent Sydney Catholics have cautiously welcomed Facebook’s decision to dump fact-checkers in favour of a community notes system. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last week that he is changing the way Facebook, Instagram and Threads moderate content on the social platforms in what he says is a move to encourage free speech.
Mr Zuckerberg said the sites would stop using the fact-checkers they installed in 2016 and move to a community notes set-up, much like the one seen on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a video posted to Instagram, Mr Zuckerberg said that while he wishes to protect free expression on his platforms, there has been “widespread debate about the potential harms of online content”.
“We built a lot of complex systems to moderate content, but the problem with complex system is they make mistakes,” he said.
“We’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship.”
Mr Zuckerberg laid out a six-point plan of action aimed at encouraging discussion on his platform, starting with the removal of fact-checkers in favour of community notes – a feature any user will be allowed to edit.
Australian author and social commentator Kevin Donnelly says the third-party fact-checkers were not always correct in their judgments and often pushed their own agendas.
“I don’t think people should be censored because whoever might be in charge disagrees with their point of view,” Dr Donnelly said.
“There’s always a question of who’s fact-checking the fact checkers?”
Director of Public Affairs and Engagement for the Sydney Archdiocese, Monica Doumit, said the change was a move in the right direction for those who do not hold populist beliefs.
“I think it should be cautiously welcomed by those who have views that sometimes are not particularly popular or, at least, not in line with the progressive orthodoxy that has been dominating social media up until, really, Elon Musk’s takeover of X,” she said.
“But the reason we should respond cautiously is because we can’t be quick to assume that all of the content that was being blocked – and that will now be allowed in – is positive, conservative, really religiously-themed content.”
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Checking the fact-checkers: Facebook’s fight against censorship (By Tara Kennedy, The Catholic Weekly)
