As Meta gets rid of fact-checkers, misinformation is going viral

In Brief

Meta is phasing out its third-party fact-checking programs in the U.S. while it reintroduces a bonus program for creators, which pays them for viral content.

The timing of these changes at Meta could intensify the prevalence of misinformation, according to ProPublica.

In the past, content creators could not monetize posts that fact-checkers deemed false; but now, these policies will no longer apply, since Meta is deprioritizing content moderation. Instead, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company will take an approach similar to X’s Community Notes, where certain users can add notes to posts to flag misleading content.

Meta will not transition its fact-checking setup until March, but already, false content is spreading. One Facebook page manager, who spread the viral, fake claim that ICE will pay people $750 to tip them off about undocumented immigrants, told ProPublica that the end of the fact-checking program is “great information.”

TechCrunch reached out to Meta for comment.

Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news