Trump praises Meta's shift to Community Notes as Zuckerberg defends free expression over censorship
Meta announced on Tuesday that it will end its third-party fact-checking program to ‘restore free expression,’ according to CNBC.
The company plans to replace the system with a ‘Community Notes’ model, similar to the system used on Elon Musk’s platform X.
According to Meta, Community Notes will allow contributing users to provide context to posts, with ratings by other users determining their reliability. The feature will roll out in the US in the coming months.
In a video announcement, CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained the rationale behind the change. “We’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes, and too much censorship,” he said.
“The recent (US) elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech, so we’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms.”
Zuckerberg criticized the existing fact-checking system as “too politically biased” and said it had “destroyed more trust than they’ve created, especially in the US.”
The decision to move away from fact-checking comes amid efforts to repair Meta’s strained relationship with Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
Meta has faced ongoing tension with Trump, who in March described Facebook as an “enemy of the people” during a CNBC interview.
The company aggressively removed ‘Stop the Steal’ content following the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, citing “continued attempts to organize events against the outcome of the US presidential election that can lead to violence.”
Meta also suspended Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram for two years after determining that his actions following the riot could incite further violence.
Trump regained access to his accounts in 2023, but Meta imposed restrictions on his activity. Those restrictions were lifted in July 2024 during the lead-up to the presidential election.
On Tuesday, Trump praised Meta’s announcement, describing the platform’s progress as significant.
When asked whether Zuckerberg was responding to threats he had previously made, Trump replied, “Probably.” He added, “Honestly, I think they’ve come a long way — Meta, Facebook, I think they’ve come a long way.”
Meta plans to simplify its content moderation policies by removing restrictions on sensitive topics like immigration and gender.
The company will instead focus on addressing illegal and severe violations. As part of these changes, Meta is relocating its trust and safety teams from California to Texas.
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s head of global policy, will become the company’s top policy officer.
Kaplan, who was a deputy chief of staff under former President George W. Bush, said the Community Notes system has been working “really well” on Musk’s platform.
Kaplan stated on Tuesday, “We want to make it so that, bottom line, if you can say it on TV, you say it on the floor of Congress, you certainly ought to be able to say it on Facebook and Instagram without fear of censorship.”
In December, Kaplan revealed in a Facebook post that he joined Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance during their visit to the New York Stock Exchange.
Meta’s Oversight Board welcomed the shift in content moderation.
In a statement to CNBC, the board said the changes aim to “enhance trust, free speech and user voice” on the platform. The board acknowledged that, particularly in the US, many users perceived Meta’s previous approach as politically biased.
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan also weighed in during an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box. Khan remarked, “We should have an economy where the decisions of a single company or a single executive are not having extraordinary impact on speech online.”
Meta has taken additional steps to strengthen its relationship with the incoming administration. On Monday, the company announced that Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and a close ally of Trump, will join its board.
In November, Zuckerberg and other technology executives met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago following his election victory. Meta also confirmed a US$1m donation to Trump’s inaugural fund in December.
Zuckerberg said on Tuesday, “We’re going to work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing to censor more.”
