The Sussexes made a statement about Meta’s new ‘no fact-checking’ policy

Last week, Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to end Meta’s fact-checking program. Meta is the name of the social media company which owns Facebook and Instagram. Zuckerberg has been cozying up to Donald Trump in recent months, and this new move was seen as yet another capitulation to Trump and the MAGA crowd. President Biden called Zuckerberg’s move “shameful,” and all kinds of social-media and political experts are raising the alarm that “no fact-checking” could have dire consequences. Well, the Sussexes are now some of those critics raising the alarm. On sussex.com, Harry and Meghan released a lengthy statement bashing Meta’s new move. Here’s an excerpt:

It doesn’t matter whether your views are left, right or somewhere in between—the latest news from Meta about changes to their policies directly undermines free speech. This should deeply concern us all. Contrary to the company’s talking points, allowing more abuse and normalizing hate speech serves to silence speech and expression, not foster it.

In an already confusing and, in many instances, intentionally disruptive information environment, Meta has shown their words and commitments have very little meaning or integrity. As they announce these changes undoubtedly responding to political winds, they once again abandon public safety in favor of profit, chaos, and control. The company’s decision to rollback protections is so far away from its stated values and commitments to its users—including the parents and families calling for change around the globe—that it’s now deeply deceptive.

Millions of people are using Meta’s platforms in the United States. Hundreds of millions more are using them globally. Many use the platform to spread joy, build community, and share empowering information. Unfortunately, Meta’s recent decisions go directly against its stated mission to “build human connection” and instead prioritize those using the platforms to spread hate, lies and division at the expense of everyone else.

…We are particularly alarmed by plans to abandon commitments to diversity and equity, coupled with internal policy changes that undermine protections for marginalized communities. These decisions echo what experts, whistleblowers, and families have raised in hearings on online harm, especially regarding children’s safety: platform design, dictated by internal policies, directly determines our online experience. To ignore this is knowingly putting everyone in harm’s way and contributing to a global mental health crisis.

[From Sussex.com]

The Sussexes call on Zuckerberg to reinstate the old fact-checking policies and strengthen them. As the Times pointed out, Zuckerberg has been weakening the fact-checking policies for a while though, creating a sort of watered-down version in name only. The sense I’m getting is that Zuckerberg is trying to “meet the moment” of Trump’s America, and help foster a free-for-all of political disinformation and a cesspool of hate.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.