Hi Reader,

If you believe the latest move from Meta is political... who knows? 🤷‍♀️ Let's unpack this.

Meta has recently announced a major shift in focus: discontinuing its third-party fact checking initiatives that continuously reviewed content for accuracy and authenticity. Essentially, they've determined that their fact-checking contains bias because its efforts are run by people.

It's been kind of a mess. Over the past few years, third-party fact-checkers have been utilized to pinpoint content that was inaccurate or "fake news." They would inform Meta, who would then suppress that content's reach on the platforms.

But, the fact-checkers themselves didn't have the authority to remove content - only Meta did. Are we getting political yet?

Mark Zuckerberg admitted, "We think one to two out of every 10 of these actions (to remove content) may have been mistakes (i.e., the content may not have actually violated our policies)."

So, Meta is taking a page from X's playbook, moving to Community Notes where users themselves will be able to add clarification or added comments and perspectives. It's basically saying, "We're out."

Meanwhile, X's Community Notes gets mixed reviews.

What does it all mean as a user of Meta's platforms?

You may see a lot more information go unchecked. The responsibility will be on each of us to determine whether a post is real or fake, or whether we're getting factual information. Understanding and participating in Community Notes will be crucial, and research on this method so far shows users are too slow to intervene.

What does it mean for your business?

1. The potential for a more diverse range of opinions and discussions on your posts. While this can enhance engagement, it's important to ensure conversations remain respectful and aligned with your brand values.
2. Changes in content policies may influence the advertising landscape. For example, current Meta policy does not allow political advertising within a certain timeframe of major elections, so there's potential for changes in this area.

It's important to remain vigilant about the content associated with your brand and to actively monitor your social media presence to maintain credibility and trust with your audience. If you have a Social Media Policy in place, ensure your internal guidelines are updated to reflect these platform changes, perhaps emphasizing the importance of accurate information sharing and respectful engagement.

As always, I'm here to support.

With gratitude,

Allie @ Twilight Social Media

Sources: More Speech and Fewer Mistakes​
​Meta, Facebook to drop fact-checkers: What does this mean for social media?​
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