Meta never cared about factchecking. What it wants is friction-free oligarchy
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The company’s plan to end its factchecking program is about appeasing Trump. That signals the making of a mafia state. This week Meta announced the elimination of its factchecking program in the US and rollbacks to content moderation policies on “hateful conduct”. These measures undoubtedly open the floodgates to more hateful, harassing, and inciting content on Facebook and Instagram. Immigrants and LGBTQ+ communities are two of the groups most likely to be affected.
![[pair shake hands]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ad0153854745673e2dce46a20cefa32880506b81/0_203_3071_1844/master/3071.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Last month, after Donald Trump won the election, Zuckerberg visited Trump in Mar-A-Lago and then Meta sent $1m to his inauguration fund. When asked for comment about Meta’s policy changes, Trump admitted that Zuckerberg was “probably” influenced by his threats to imprison the tech CEO.
This is the making of a mafia state, where open threats are met with lavish gifts and public praise. Looking back on the history of content moderation, one can easily conclude that social media companies tailor their products to suit the needs of those with the power to regulate them. This time is no different, except the consequences for vulnerable groups will probably be worse. By changing Meta’s policy on factchecking to appease Trump, Zuckerberg is laying the foundation for friction-free oligarchy, where those with the most power and influence no longer have to contend with facts or corrections.
It was during the first Trump administration that tech companies realized social media was susceptible to foreign and domestic media manipulation campaigns, as their products were used to reach millions with lies, grift, conspiracy, and hate. Journalists uncovered large-scale media manipulation campaigns run by Cambridge Analytica and Russia’s Internet Research Agency, which weaponized Facebook for political ends during the 2016 US election and Brexit.
