How social media giants are moving away from fact-checking

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Earlier this month, Meta, the parent company of four of the world’s top 10 social media platforms, including Facebook, announced it would end its third-party fact-checking programme in the US. Instead, it plans to implement a community notes system similar to that used by X (formerly Twitter).

In a similar vein, Alphabet, which owns YouTube—the second-largest social media platform—recently informed the European Union that it would not integrate fact-checking into Google search results or YouTube videos, despite new EU regulatory requirements. Meta’s decision, currently limited to the US, has sparked concerns among fact-checking organizations. Read this | Mint Primer | Fact and fiction: (Un)importance of fact-checkers The rise of digital media and social media influencers has driven an increase in fact-checking organizations.

According to a Pew Research Center analysis, approximately 21% of US adults regularly get their news from influencers on social media. These influencers are primarily active on X, though many maintain a presence on other platforms as well. The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) has 137 signatory organizations worldwide.

Meta’s fact-checking programme, the largest of any platform, partners with over 90 fact-checking organizations and supports content in more than 60 languages. Between 2016 and 2022, Meta reported contributing over $100 million to its fact-checking initiatives. TikTok, by comparison, has partnered with around 15 organizations.