On Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, was ending its fact-checking programme and going back to its roots – promoting free expression.
And the reason? That fact-checking had led to “too much censorship” and “too many mistakes”.
He positioned himself as a supporter of free speech, an American virtue that’s a world away from Europe, a tech backwater with ever-creeping censorship.
But critics say the move is a cynical ploy to curry favour with incoming US president Donald Trump – and with millions of people using these social media platforms every day it risks ushering in “an age without facts”.
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Irish Times tech journalist Ciara O’Brien goes through Zuckerberg’s five-point plan for Meta and explains why the newly bullish Meta boss is changing the way his business operates.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
