The liberal assumption that censorship, disguised as “fact-checking,” could effectively address the challenges posed by Donald Trump has proven to be a significant miscalculation.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has announced the cessation of fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram, opting to implement a “Community Notes” system akin to that utilized by Elon Musk on X. This strategic shift arises in the context of an impending Trump administration and was influenced by requests from his allies, notably Brendan Carr, a prominent figure within the Federal Communications Commission. Zuckerberg asserted that these new policies would champion “freedom of expression” while opposing censorship, highlighting the alleged political bias inherent among third-party fact-checkers.
There was a widespread erroneous belief among liberals that the ascendance of Trump posed a problem that could easily be mitigated through censorship under the guise of fact-checking. Nonetheless, strategies such as banning Trump from significant social media platforms have failed to curtail his support. In the wake of Trump’s first electoral victory in 2016, Facebook initiated a fact-checking program, while in 2021, it subsequently banned him due to his involvement in the Capitol insurrection.
Zuckerberg also remarked that with these new adjustments, “we’re going to catch less bad stuff.” The liberal rhetoric surrounding “fact-checking” has become outdated, and its advocates have not presented a viable alternative, culminating in their retreat. Moreover, prominent tech figures such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have shown support for Trump and the Republican Party, indicating a notable shift in approaches to regulating information across social media platforms.