Meta Tests Fact-Check Replacement in Latin America
The company said the notes will stay hidden during the test as professional fact-checking continues, despite warnings from its Oversight Board and the International Fact-Checking Network.
- On Wednesday, Meta announced it began testing Community Notes in 16 Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, a step toward replacing professional fact-checking programs across the region.
- Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg cast the transition as a return to free expression, mirroring the crowdsourced system used by Elon Musk's X, which replaced the United States fact-checking program last year.
- While Meta reports the United States program now includes more than 1.4 million contributors, AFP global news director Phil Chetwynd warned that 'community notes can only be effective when contributors can rely on accurate, ethically produced, fact-checked journalism.'
- Angie Holan, director of the International Fact-Checking Network, stated she is 'deeply concerned' by the decision, arguing the program alone is 'simply not adequate' for reducing harmful falsehoods on social media platforms.
- The company's Oversight Board previously warned that global expansion risks human rights harms in politically polarized countries, specifically citing dangers in nations facing crises, protracted conflict, or critical election periods.
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31 Articles
The digital giant is extending its collective moderation scheme to 16 countries, gradually replacing its fact-checking programme with user contributions The Meta Group
Meta tests a system of collective verification in 16 Spanish-speaking countries, replacing journalists. Experts warn about the risk of disinformation.The exclusion of Brazil, with stricter regulations, highlights the concern about the impact of these measures on the democratic health of Latin America.
The model is inspired by the system employed by X, the social network owned by Elon Musk. Collaborators propose texts and provide sources; later, other participants value whether these contributions are useful.
The massive collaboration system is designed to replace verifications carried out by data collection and verification agencies.
The initiative comes almost two years after Meta's shutdown of fact-checking in the United States, replaced by this system based on Internet contributions. Several studies have shown that this system is less effective than the work of professionals to combat misinformation.
Meta announced on Wednesday the launch in the testing phase of the "community notes" in 16 Latin American countries, user contributions that are intended to replace the fact-checking on its social networks, raising fears of a resurgence of disinformation.
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Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources lean Right
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