*Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta is rolling back content restrictions and fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram.
The CEO framed the decision as a step toward promoting free expression as Donald Trump’s second term as president gets underway.
“We’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship,” Zuckerberg said Tuesday in a video posted on Facebook. “The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point toward once again prioritizing speech. So we are going to get back to our roots, focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms.”
Meta is phasing out fact-checkers in the U.S., introducing a Community Notes system where users can add context to posts. The platform will no longer enforce content policies on topics like immigration and gender, according to Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Threads that enforcing content rules about these two topics is “out of touch with mainstream discourse.”
Meta will continue to monitor and address illegal activities on Threads, Facebook, and Instagram.
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The shift reflects Zuckerberg’s apparent effort to position himself more favorably with the incoming Trump administration.
Zuckerberg’s relationship with President-elect Trump has been tumultuous, escalating after Meta suspended Trump’s accounts following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Last summer, Trump hinted that Zuckerberg could face imprisonment if Meta was seen as interfering in U.S. elections.
On Tuesday, Trump praised Zuckerberg for changing how Meta’s three major social media platforms will moderate political content. Speaking to reporters, he suggested that Mark is “probably” altering course in response to Trump’s earlier threats about prison.
“Honestly, I think they have come a long way, Meta, Facebook” Trump told reporters during the news conference.
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