The company has no plans to end fact-checking in the EU, the company clarified at POLITICO’s request, and will review its EU content moderation obligations before making changes.
The move comes as Meta, and other tech giants, attempt to cozy up to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration in Washington. Meta has also put a longtime Republican in charge of global policy and put top Trump ally Dana White on its board of directors.
Trump’s pick to head the Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr commented on an X post containing Zuckerberg’s announcement with a meme showing the actor Jack Nicholson nodding enthusiastically.
Carr has pledged to destroy what he calls the “censorship cartel” of Big Tech.
Facebook launched its fact-checking system with external partners in December 2016, in response to growing criticism of the company’s role in the U.S. election that saw Donald Trump’s first victory.
Other platforms, such as Twitter, also began using outside fact-checkers — until billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022. The site introduced a feature in which users, instead of outside checkers, could add community notes to viral posts.
