Meta Ditches Fact Checking w/ the University of Waikato’s Joe Ulatowski: 15 January, 2025

Last week Meta made an announcement that it was going to ditch its third party fact checkers, and replace them with a ‘community notes’ system similar to X. 

This means all content would be moderated and fact checked by its own users. The move has received a large amount of backlash amid concerns that it will cause a rise in hate speech, disinformation and fraud. The move has also been slated as catering to Donald Trump’s attitude to online moderation, ahead of him taking office as President next week. 

Shortly after this announcement, Meta also announced it was ditching its Diversity, Inclusion and Equity program.  

Evie spoke to the University of Waikato’s Joe Ulatowski about these changes, what he thinks it means for the future of misinformation on social media, and what impact it may have in Aotearoa.