If Elon Musk believes that “ you are the media ,” Mark Zuckerberg follows up by declaring “ you are the fact-checkers .” In a video that looks like a deepfake , the Facebook boss announced the end of Meta’s fact-checking program, launched in 2016. This decision, presented as a defense of “freedom of expression,” is based on the idea that fact-checking journalists were too politically biased. “ We reached a point where there were too many errors and too much censorship ,” he claims. Meta is thus ending a program in which more than $100 million was invested, in partnership with organizations certified by the IFCN (International Fact-Checking Network). From now on, content moderation will be participatory, based on users, like X’s “Community Notes.”
A Trumpist turn
The announcement comes as Meta prepares for an antitrust gambling data nigeria trial in April, amid concerns that the president will back a breakup of the company. The Meta boss has been scornful of Donald Trump, who sees politics as a personal matter . Trump has threatened to send him to prison in the past. “ This is how a mafia state emerges, where open threats are followed by lavish gifts and public praise ,” summarizes The Guardian . “Zuck’s announcement is a total submission to Trump and an attempt to catch up with Elon Musk in his race to the bottom. The implications will be profound ,” warns Nina Jankowicz , CEO of the nonprofit America Sunlight Project. “ We haven’t seen this kind of subjugation of economics to politics in at least four decades ,” exclaims Johan Hufnagel , co-founder of Loopsider.
A Case for Brain Rot ( Atlantic )
Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, and the Collapse of the #MeToo Era in Hollywood ( The New Yorker )
Beyond “Doomscrolling” ( The Atlantic )
"The power of tech giants is eroding democracy" ( Le Monde )
DISRUPTION, DISLOCATION, GLOBALIZATION
AI Financial Advisors Target Young People Living Paycheck to Paycheck ( Wired )
China considers sale of TikTok US to Musk as possible option ( Bloomberg )
Indian fact-checkers react to Meta's policy change ( CJR )
Newsflation: UK newspaper prices rise 12% in one year ( Press Gazette )
Indonesia tightens social media protections ahead of minimum age law ( Reuters )
Singapore turns to AI to care for its aging population ( Rest of World )
DATA, TRUST, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, DISINFORMATION
As layoff approaches, Meta fact-checkers try to stem a wave of wildfire conspiracy theories ( CNN )
That sports article you clicked on might just be AI-generated 'slop' ( Wired )
Meta just disabled the mechanism that prevents disinformation from spreading in the United States ( Platformer )
And Google won't add fact-checking despite new EU law ( Axios )
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS
SEC files lawsuit against Elon Musk, accusing him of delaying disclosure of partial ownership of Twitter ( NPR )
Google Under Investigation in UK Over Its Search Services ( Wall Street Journal )
Europe will struggle to
Stray Links: Meta Turns Its Back on the Fight Against Disinformation
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