The end of fact-checking at Meta is raising fresh concerns its platforms will become a hotbed of disinformation as the network hands over the policing of content to users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move, coupled with the loosening of some hate speech rules, was slammed by some tech policy experts as a 180-degree shift<\/strong> for Meta that could undo nearly a decade of efforts to prevent disinformation from spreading on its platforms \u2014 Facebook, Instagram and Threads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Meta CEO <\/strong>Mark Zuckerberg\u2002<\/u><\/a>framed the decision as a return to the company\u2019s \u201croots\u201d in an embrace of free speech, some observers worry today\u2019s political and digital climate leaves too much room for false information to spread online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou get rid of the fact-checkers and people that are sort of policing the content \u2026 that [could] be a turbo-charged engine for disinformation,\u201d Ari Lightman, a digital media professor at Carnegie Mellon University, told The Hill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDisinformation is very sensational in terms of its orientation. It\u2019s designed to draw people in, it\u2019s designed to be confrontational,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact-checking program was created in 2016<\/strong> amid mounting scrutiny after it was revealed Russia attempted to use Facebook to influence the U.S. election that year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n