Biden slams ‘really shameful’ Meta decision to scrap US fact-checking on Facebook, Instagram

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Joe Biden blasts Meta for scrapping fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram in the United States, calling the move “really shameful” after a global network warned of real-world harm if the tech giant expands its decision to other countries.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg triggered alarm earlier this week when he announced the Palo Alto company was ditching third-party fact-checking in the United States and turning over the task of debunking falsehoods to ordinary users under a model known as “Community Notes,” popularized by X.

The decision was widely seen as an attempt to appease US President-elect Donald Trump, whose conservative support base has long complained that fact-checking on tech platforms was a way to curtail free speech and censor right-wing content.

“I think it’s really shameful,” Biden tells reporters at the White House when asked about the announcement.

“Telling the truth matters,” he says, adding that the move was “completely contrary to everything America’s about.”

The International Fact-Checking Network has warned of devastating consequences if Meta broadens its policy shift beyond US borders to the company’s programs covering more than 100 countries.