Meta has announced that its decision to end third-party fact-checking will currently apply only within the United States, as detailed in a January 13 letter to Brazil’s Attorney General of the Union (AGU). The company plans to test and refine its new Community Notes feature domestically before considering expansion to other countries.
This clarification follows Meta’s January 7 announcement to replace its independent Fact-Checking Program with a Community Notes model, similar to the system used by Elon Musk’s platform, X. The initiative aims to balance freedom of expression with user safety by allowing the community to provide context to potentially misleading posts.
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In response, Brazil’s Attorney-General Jorge Messias expressed concerns, emphasizing that Brazil has stringent laws to protect vulnerable populations and will not permit social networks to become arenas of “digital carnage or barbarity.” The AGU had previously set a 72-hour deadline for Meta to clarify the scope of its policy changes.
Meta acknowledged the potential risks associated with increased freedom of expression and assured that automated systems are in place to address severe violations, including terrorism, child exploitation, fraud, and drug-related issues. The company intends to focus enforcement on illegal and high-severity violations while allowing more speech on mainstream topics.
