Recently, Meta announced a radical overhaul of its content moderation policies, marking a significant shift in how the platform is managed. Among the key changes, the company will no longer engage in professional fact-checking and will introduce new rules that expand the boundaries of what users are allowed to post, with immediate effects on its “misconduct” standards.
For example, referring to women as “household objects” or “property” and using derogatory terms for transgender or non-binary people will now be permitted. The company is also opening the door for other specific groups to be targeted, justifying this decision by stating that it aims to support political and religious discussions on issues like transgenderism and homosexuality.
According to the updated guidelines, statements that would have previously been removed immediately now seem to be allowed.
The dismantling of independent fact-checking network in the country, will be replaced with a system of user-generated “community notes” to add context to posts. At the same time, its automated systems for detecting policy violations will now focus only on extreme cases, such as child exploitation and terrorism. The company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, acknowledged that this new approach will “result in fewer mistakes in removing innocent content,” but he also admitted that it might allow more controversial posts to proliferate.
The change comes at a time when Meta appears to be trying to gain favor with conservatives, including Donald Trump, who welcomed the new modifications. In a press conference, the newly elected president stated that the changes are “probably” a result of threats he made to Chief Executives in the past.
Experts within the digital ecosystem are concerned that these moves could intensify the spread of hate speech and viral falsehoods. Some observers have already called this new approach a dangerous step backward in the fight against digital intolerance.
However, Meta has reiterated that it will continue to ban direct attacks against protected groups based on ethnicity, race, or religion, as well as uphold its policies against bullying and harassment. Still, the new rules reflect a clear acceleration in Zuckerberg’s vision for a platform more focused on “free expression.”
