By Alexander Pracht
CivilNet, along with other international fact-checking organizations, has addressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an open letter, urging the company to reverse its decision to wind up the fact-checking program in the United States, announced on Wednesday.
The letter, signed by fact-checking partners worldwide, highlights the significant progress made since the program’s launch in 2016. The initiative has been praised for reducing the spread of false information across Meta’s platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, without censoring users. The signatories reject Zuckerberg’s claim that the program has become a tool for censorship, stressing that fact-checkers operate under strict nonpartisan standards verified by the International Fact-Checking Network.
“We believe — and data shows — most people on social media are looking for reliable information to make decisions about their lives and to have good interactions with friends and family. […] The freedom to say why something is not true is also free speech,” the signatories argue.
Addressing Zuckerberg’s criticism, the letter clarifies that fact-checkers never had the authority to remove content or accounts and were not responsible for Meta’s content moderation policies. Instead, they provided evidence-based reviews to label and downrank false information. The fact-checking community also raised concerns about Meta’s exemption of politicians from fact-checking, a policy that they believe has undermined the program’s effectiveness.
The fact-checkers also expressed alarm over the potential global implications of Meta’s decision. While the program’s discontinuation currently applies only to the U.S., they warned that expanding it to other countries could result in severe consequences, particularly in vulnerable regions where misinformation can incite violence, destabilize governments, and even cause genocide.
“The decision to end Meta’s third-party fact-checking program is a step backward for those who want an internet prioritizing accurate and trustworthy information,” the letter states. “As journalists, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the freedom of the press, ensuring that the pursuit of truth endures as a cornerstone of democracy,” the signatories conclude.
CivilNet joined Meta’s fact-checking program in July last year, involving native Armenian language fact-checkers to review and rate the accuracy of content in the country, becoming the first Armenian media organization to do so. As of now, Meta works with over 100 fact-checking partners in more than 60 languages globally.
You can read the full letter here.
