Editorial: Meta makeover

The overhauling of content-moderation policy signals that the social media giant is entering a more partisan political era

Meta is turning to the Right. The dramatic makeover of the social media giant, ahead of the start of Donald Trump’s second term as the United States President, reflects its desperation to please the conservative camp. The development again exposes the meekness with which the corporate leaders surrender to the whims and ideologies of the ruling dispensation. Meta, which operates and manages content on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, announced that it would abandon its fact-checking programme in favour of a crowdsourced model emphasising “free expression”.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined the overhauling of Meta’s content-moderation policy, which meets many of the demands of American conservatives, signalling that the social media giant is entering a more partisan political era. The company is also revising its rules to allow more criticism of certain groups, letting users see more “civic content” in their feeds. The changes were announced as Zuckerberg, like many of his peers in the technology industry, attempts to curry favour with Trump’s incoming administration. Notes from everyday users will replace corrections from vetted fact-checking partners, similar to X’s Community Notes feature.

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In a post on Threads, Meta’s answer to X, Zuckerberg also vowed to reduce “censorship mistakes”, rhetoric that mirrors US conservatives’ long-standing charges that Facebook and Instagram unfairly penalise conservatives. The changes will affect Facebook, Instagram and Threads, with over 3 billion users globally, and will also stop proactive scanning for hate speech, focusing instead on removing “high-severity violations” like terrorism and child exploitation.

Critics argue that Meta’s new approach will lead to an increase in misinformation and hate speech online. Zuckerberg’s pivot towards Trump’s administration is seen as a unique move, given Meta’s dominant position in how Americans communicate online. With four Meta apps — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger — being among the most widely used internet platforms, the implications of this policy change are far-reaching.

The recent elections “feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech,” Zuckerberg said in his announcement, justifying relaxed new content moderation rules on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Meta is also “bringing back civic content,” meaning the company will tweak its algorithms so that users can see more posts about elections, politics and social issues. Zuckerberg, once a supporter of a handful of progressive causes, began dropping hints last summer that he was preparing to politically lean in on supporting Trump, a manoeuvre he is now in the process of pulling off.

Meta announced new members of its board of directors, including Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship and a long-time friend of Trump’s. The speed with which Zuckerberg changed his political tune was simply breathtaking. Zuckerberg, who co-founded his company nearly 21 years ago, is hardly alone in corporate America in shifting policy to match political winds, but his political makeover is significant given the far-reaching impact of Meta on American society.