As wildfires raged across Los Angeles this month, a different kind of chaos spread online: fake news. Social media platforms were flooded with conspiracy theories, misleading videos, and false accusations against innocent individuals.
This wave of misinformation highlighted a persistent question in the digital age: how can we effectively combat and correct dangerous falsehoods online?
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, has found himself at the center of this debate. Following the January 6th Capitol riots in 2021—fueled by claims of a rigged U.S. election—Zuckerberg testified before Congress, touting Meta’s “industry-leading fact-checking program.” The initiative relied on 80 independent third-party fact-checkers to tackle misinformation across Facebook and Instagram.
Four years later, that system has lost its luster.
“Fact checkers have been too politically biased and have eroded trust instead of building it, especially in the U.S.,” Zuckerberg said earlier this year. To replace them, Meta plans to implement a new approach inspired by X’s (formerly Twitter) “community notes,” where accuracy is determined by user consensus rather than experts.
The move has drawn skepticism from experts. Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the Security, Trust, and Safety Initiative at Cornell Tech, called the decision to eliminate fact-checkers a misstep. He suggested Zuckerberg’s shift was politically motivated, catering to both the U.S. administration and Elon Musk.
Yet, Mantzarlis and other critics acknowledge that, in theory, community-driven fact-checking systems can contribute to the fight against misinformation.
Still, adopting a model linked to Musk’s platform was bound to spark controversy. Musk himself is frequently accused of spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories via X. However, the idea isn’t entirely Musk’s.
Launched in 2021 as “Birdwatch,” the system was inspired by Wikipedia, where volunteers collaborate to write and edit content. Whether this approach will prove effective on Meta’s platforms remains an open question.
