Zuckerberg doubled down in an interview Friday with podcaster Joe Rogan, comparing the fact-checking program with “something out of 1984”, in a reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel.
He added that the program, which began in 2016, was “destroying so much trust, especially in the United States”.
Zuckerberg also expressed regret for giving “too much deference” to the traditional media, criticising it for pushing the narrative that social media misinformation had swung the 2016 election in favour of Trump.
“CONSEQUENCES”
Zuckerberg stunned many when he said on Tuesday that fact-checkers were “too politically biased” and added that the program had led to “too much censorship”.
IFCN’s letter rejected the claim as false, insisting that Meta’s fact-checking partners underwent rigorous verification to meet its strict nonpartisanship standards.
Far from questioning those standards, it added, Meta had “consistently praised their rigour and effectiveness”.
The United Nations rights chief Volker Turk also insisted on Friday that regulating harmful content and hate speech online is not censorship.
Allowing such content to flourish online has real-world consequences, Turk said on X.
Brazil on Friday gave Meta 72 hours to explain its fact-checking policy for the country, and how it plans to protect fundamental rights on its platforms.
Attorney General Jorge Messias told journalists his office could take legal and judicial measures against Meta if it does not respond in time to an extrajudicial notice filed Friday.
Facebook currently pays to use fact checks from around 80 organisations globally on the platform, as well as on WhatsApp and Instagram.
AFP currently works in 26 languages with Facebook’s fact-checking scheme.
