A massive reversal on fact-checking could soon change what you see on social media. Meta on Tuesday announced it is discontinuing its fact-checking program in the United States to allow for more “free expression.”
If you’re a regular user of Meta’s social media apps – Facebook, Instagram or Threads – that means you’ll no longer see warnings on posts that are flagged as untrue, such as conspiracy theories or disinformation. Instead, the company will outsource that job to its users over the next few months by letting them leave “Community Notes” under debated posts, similar to what X has done.
The company announced the changes in a blog post and a video of CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He said they would lead to the company catching “less bad stuff” but that it was a trade-off for allowing more people to post freely without fear of having their accounts or posts removed.
If you’re worried about accidentally falling for posts that aren’t true, make sure to consume information wisely. Here’s how.
Listen to your gut, then do the opposite
The No. 1 way to avoid falling for posts circulating on social media is to consider how it makes you feel. If it elicits a strong emotional reaction, like anger, anxiety, fear or even glee, that’s a sign it may be untrue. Take a beat and investigate.
Misinformation has a variety of sources, from deliberate lies spread to influence public opinion to accounts using outrage to go viral and profit. Where a nuanced factual post might not get much engagement, a juicy conspiracy will lead to more clicks, shares and engagement.
“Another good sign is that you want to believe it,” says Abbie Richards, a misinformation researcher and content creator. “When you encounter misinformation, the biggest factor in whether you fall for it is when you want it to be true.”
Don’t use AI when looking for the truth
If you want to see if a post is true, do not ask Meta’s built-in AI bot or other AI options about it. If you’re doing a quick Google search, scroll past its AI Overview section on top and instead seek out known, trustworthy sources like established news organizations and even Wikipedia.
AI tools, while helpful for other things, struggle with facts and often don’t have up-to-date information. They can make things up and frequently don’t source where information comes from, which makes it impossible to trace claims back to their origins. Meta AI even includes a disclaimer on news-related searches that says answers “may contain inaccuracies or unintentional biases,” and recommends checking authoritative sources.
Don’t assume things were factual before
Hopefully you weren’t relying on your Instagram feed or Facebook groups as your source for news before this announcement. Meta apps have never been known as homes of factual content and reasoned discussion. No matter what protections they may have set up, social media in general can be impossible to police.
In one example, a 2022 investigation by The Washington Post and ProPublica found hundreds of thousands of posts questioning the legitimacy of President Joe Biden’s election victory filled Facebook groups in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Meta launched its official fact-checking program in 2016 and had a number of third-party partners doing the work in English and Spanish in the United States, including FactCheck.org, PolitiFact and USA Today. Most posts were not fact-checked – something that would have been impossible given the volume of content across Facebook, Instagram and other Meta apps. There were also limitations on what could even be checked. Most notably, these fact-checks were not allowed on politicians’ posts.
That doesn’t mean fact checks aren’t helpful, says Richards, but they work best as one part of a system. “Despite the fact that it’s not the be-all, end-all solution to the greater problem of misinformation, its still a service we really need to understand what’s true and not true.”
Be ready for more controversial posts
In addition to winding down fact checks, Meta is loosening its guidelines on some subjects like gender identity and immigration. You could see more posts arguing over things like transgender inclusions in sports or the military. Meta will also dial back limits on political posts in feeds. It will use its automated systems on serious issues like illegal activities over posts that break lesser community guidelines. Flagging smaller violations will now fall to individual users.
Avoid your algorithmic feeds
The algorithmic feed is one of the most successful inventions of modern social media. Using data like your past activity, things you’ve searched and what’s popular, apps like X, YouTube and TikTok suggest content for you to view next, saving you effort and delivering never-ending content.
When it comes to facts, ditch these autogenerated suggestions and use a curated list of accounts you follow. Look up trusted sources and people to follow and even then, use caution if something feels off.
“I’m a big proponent of being intentional in your consumption,” says Richards. “Especially of who you’re following instead of just letting the algorithm feed things to you.”
Look elsewhere for the truth
Don’t let a Facebook group, Instagram feed or Thread be your go-to source for the day’s news, unless you’re confident you’re only following verified news outlets. Use tools that are designed for getting real news from their original sources, like Apple News and Google News. Try to trace anything you’re not sure about to its original source, and if it’s a post by someone you know don’t be afraid to ask them where they got their information.
Finally, use fact-checking sites like FactCheck.org, Check Your Fact, Reuters Fact Check and PolitiFact. While the Meta decision might mean some of its third-party partners lose funding, for now, they’re all still doing the same work to make sure people can find reliable information.