Meta’s fact-checking snub in US sets off alarm bells for fact-checkers in India

“This is possibly the biggest existential threat many fact checkers will have to contend with,” a senior executive from a fact-checking organisation said on the condition of anonymity.

Earlier this week, Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a slew of major content-related changes to Meta platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Key among them was Meta’s decision to end its third-party fact checking programme in the US, with the company looking to move to a community-driven system similar to X’s Community Notes.

“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 said in a video. “More specifically, here’s what we’re going to do. First, we’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes similar to X, starting in the US.”

“Just like they do on X, Community Notes will require agreement between people with a range of perspectives to help prevent biased ratings,” Meta said in a blog post.

The panic in India

Even though the decision to end Meta’s third-party fact checking programme is currently limited to the United States, fact checkers The Indian Express spoke to in India believe it was a matter of time before similar changes were made in India, as they see the company pivot towards a more Trump-friendly image for at least the next four years.

If that were to happen there are two major concerns: funding and eyeballs. Fact checkers said that for a number of Indian entities, being part of Meta’s third-party fact checking programme is the only source of funding. If that were to dry up, it could mean they would have to shut shop.

The second is that these fact checkers also rely on Meta platforms for eyeballs on their work. Facebook and Instagram are the biggest avenues of driving traffic to their own websites, and if their fact checks were to vanish from the platforms, that could severely impact the number of people that visit their websites.

Meta works with fact checkers certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), who review and rate the accuracy of posts on Meta platforms through original reporting. In India, Meta currently has 12 such fact checking partners, including some mainstream publishers like PTI, AFP, India Today Fact Check, and The Quint, but also a number of smaller firms.

At this point, it is unclear whether Meta will extend its decision to end fact checking partnerships in India. “We are ending our third-party fact checking program, and over the next couple of months we’ll phase in a more comprehensive Community Notes system, in the US. There are no changes to other countries at this time,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to The Indian Express.

Meta goes MAGA

Apart from ending its fact checking programme in the US, Meta also announced that it would move its content moderation team out of California to Texas, in a move many believe does lip service to the new Trump Presidency.

Meta also made further inroads with the incoming US presidential administration by appointing UFC founder and prominent Trump supporter Dana White to its board of directors. The company also recently donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, part of an effort to build a positive relationship with the administration after a tense history.

Before that, Zuckerberg had also paid a visit to Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. The company also recently appointed Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican, as its president of global affairs.