Investing.com - Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) on Tuesday said it is overhauling its approach to content moderation, ending its third-party fact-checking program in the United States and transitioning to a "Community Notes" model.
The move represents a significant shift in the company’s strategy to manage the spread of misinformation and uphold free expression on its platforms.
The third-party fact-checking program, launched in 2016, was designed to combat viral hoaxes by providing additional context from independent experts.
However, Meta has acknowledged that the system has not worked as intended, with legitimate political speech often being inappropriately labeled or reduced in distribution.
Meta is phasing out the existing program and will gradually introduce Community Notes, a system that relies on user contributions to flag and add context to potentially misleading posts. This model is inspired by a similar approach on another platform, which Meta believes is less prone to bias and more reflective of diverse perspectives.
Users in the United States can sign up to become contributors to the Community Notes program, which will be implemented over the next few months.
As the transition takes place, Meta plans to eliminate the current fact-checking controls, stop demoting content that has been fact-checked, and introduce less intrusive labels offering additional information for interested users.
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