Response To Meta’s Decision To End Fact-Checking

Source: www.pexels.com

In previous LIAS blogs we have been highlighting the importance of digital/ news literacy to decipher misinformation. Below is a response by the News Literacy Project (NLP) on Meta’s recent decision to end fact-checking on their platforms. To view their original statement, click here.

 

Guest Blog from The News Literacy Project

In response to the announcement that Meta will end fact-checking on Instagram, Facebook and Threads, the News Literacy Project released the following statement:

Meta is removing measures that mitigate the spread of false, harmful information on their platforms, and social media users will suffer because of it. These users already are vulnerable to manipulation by malicious actors promoting unreliable sources and information engineered to exploit our cognitive biases, including the desire to confirm our preexisting ideas and beliefs.

“This move demonstrates that Meta has largely given up on moderation efforts that remind people of the facts and encourage people to seek out credible, standards-based sources of information. Productive, respectful civic discourse requires moderation and agreed-upon principles – like civility, an acknowledgement of strong evidence and an acceptance of facts. This kind of responsible moderation is not ‘censorship,’ it provides the foundation for honest, fact-based discourse,” said Peter Adams, Senior Vice President of Research and Design at the News Literacy Project.

“Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end Meta’s fact-checking program not only removes a valuable resource for users, but it also provides an air of legitimacy to a popular disinformation narrative: That fact-checking is politically biased. Fact-checkers provide a valuable service by adding important context to the viral claims that mislead and misinform millions of users on Meta,” said Dan Evon, lead writer for RumorGuard®, the News Literacy Project’s digital tool that curates fact checks and teaches people to spot viral misinformation.

The News Literacy Project’s public policy statements call on social media companies to:

• Provide and enforce clear community standards.
• Pursue the removal of malicious accounts, including those dedicated to pushing extremism and disinformation.
• Design adjustment of algorithms to reduce the spread of misinformation, promote credible information, and help reverse political division and polarization.

You may also be interested in NLP’s TikTok on this topic: https://www.tiktok.com/@newslitproject/video/7457651435069689134

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The News Literacy Project is a nonpartisan nonprofit building a national movement to ensure that all students are skilled in news literacy before high school graduation, giving them the knowledge and ability to participate in civic society as well-informed, critical thinkers. Founded in 2008, NLP is the country’s leading provider of news literacy education and works with educators in all 50 states. Learn more at newslit.org.