January 9, 2025, 8:07 am | Read time: 3 minutes

Meta is discontinuing its fact-checking system in the USA. Instead, the company wants to rely on “Community Notes” based on the model of Elon Musk’s Platform X – and thus bring back freedom of expression.

Cooperation with Fact-Checkers a Mistake

Until now, the US company has relied on cooperation with independent organizations to check the truthfulness of content. However, this and the overly complex content guidelines have led to many errors. This has reportedly frustrated users and frequently obstructed the free expression of opinion.

Cooperation with fact-checkers is no longer the right approach: “The fact-checkers were simply too politically biased and destroyed more trust than they created.”

Accordingly, users in the US will, in the future, be given the opportunity to mark false or misleading statements as such and provide additional information, according to the company’s blog. The company states that the “Community Notes” system is modeled after the short messaging service X (formerly known as Twitter), which is operated by billionaire Elon Musk.

Changes Initially Only in the USA

The announced changes will initially only be introduced in the USA. For now, this will not affect the German market. In Germany, Meta continues to work with the Correctiv research network and the news agencies dpa and AFP.

This Is What dpa Says

This situation is not expected to change in the near future. A dpa spokesperson told TECHBOOK: “dpa is still Meta’s fact-checking partner. We have an ongoing contract.” However, contractual obligations prevent the disclosure of further details.

However, the accusation of political bias was refuted: “For dpa, it goes without saying that our fact checks (like all dpa content) are produced independently and without any partisanship in accordance with our statutes – i.e. ‘unbiased’.”

Correctiv’s Reaction to Meta’s Change of Course

In an email to TECHBOOK, Correctiv says that it takes a critical view of Meta’s decision. It highlights “a reluctance to assume responsibility in combating disinformation.” As with dpa, there is a cooperation with Meta. This would currently run until the end of 2025, and the work against disinformation would continue “beyond the cooperation.”

Correctiv responded to the accusation of bias as follows:

“We cannot share Zuckerberg’s statements regarding an alleged bias. As a fact-checking organization, we adhere to the very high editorial standards of the EFCSN [European Fact Checking Network] and the IFCN [International Fact Checking Network]. These organizations penalize political bias. There is no censorship, as only context is provided for content, but it is not deleted.”

^{Spokesperson for Correctiv}

A request to the AFP has so far remained unanswered.

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Meta must comply with the Digital Services Act

However, if Meta were to also terminate its collaboration with independent fact-checkers in the EU, it would be required to conduct a risk assessment as mandated by the Digital Services Act (DSA) and present a report to the European Commission, according to classifications by the Tagesschau and other sources.

The law explicitly requires platforms to address systemic risks, including “disinformation or adverse impacts on civil society discourse.” The EU Commission’s spokesperson for digital affairs, Thomas Regnier, explained to MDR: “If the platform does not comply with the law on digital services, we could actually impose a fine of up to six percent of the global turnover of such a platform.”