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Meta’s decision to discontinue its fact-checking programme in the United States has not impacted advertiser spending, the company said during its Q4 2024 earnings call.
According to reports, Meta’s chief financial officer, Susan Li, told investors that advertiser demand remained strong despite the policy change. She also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to brand safety and pointed to AI-powered tools as helping businesses maximise the value of their ad spend. However, she did not provide specific data on advertiser spending trends.
Meanwhile, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg defended the shift, arguing that the new Community Notes system, a feature inspired by X, is a superior alternative to traditional fact-checking.
“I’m not afraid to admit when someone does something that’s better than us,” Zuckerberg said. “I think it’s sort of our job to go and just do the best work and implement the best system.”
He rejected claims that Meta was stepping back from efforts to provide context or combat misinformation, insisting the new approach would be more effective.
Meta announced earlier this month that the decision to end fact-checking applies only to the U.S. for now. The timing of the move has drawn scrutiny, given Republican concerns over alleged censorship on social media, particularly in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election.
The company’s decision to adopt X’s Community Notes concept rather than develop a new system follows a long-standing pattern. Meta has a history of incorporating features from rival platforms, such as when it introduced Stories after Snapchat popularised the format. During congressional antitrust hearings, Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook had “certainly adapted” features pioneered by competitors. Now, he appears more willing to openly credit those ideas.
Meta’s move has sparked backlash online, with critics mocking the decision in a wave of memes, many of which targeted Zuckerberg personally. Despite the controversy, the company remains confident that its new approach will improve the quality of information on its platforms.