Uygar Gültekin
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, announced it will discontinue its third-party fact-checking program, starting with the U.S. This move ends an eight-year initiative to combat disinformation on its platforms by partnering with external verification organizations. Mehmet Atakan Foça, founder of the Turkish fact-checking organization teyit.org, warned this decision removes key barriers to the spread of disinformation and could allow false information to proliferate unchecked.
“We’ll get rid of fact-checkers,” Zuckerberg says
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the policy shift on Jan. 7 through Instagram, stating, “We’ll get rid of fact-checkers.” The company’s decision signals a broader policy overhaul, delegating the responsibility of content verification to its global user base. Users will now be able to add notes to posts, effectively taking on the role of monitoring and responding to misinformation themselves.
With nearly 3 billion daily active users across its platforms, Meta’s new approach raises concerns about the spread of disinformation, especially given the scale of the change. Critics argue the policy will be inadequate to curb the flow of false information and accuse Meta of adopting a populist stance.
Users now bear the responsibility of combating disinformation
Foça highlighted that this decision shifts the burden of distinguishing fact from fiction onto users. With the constant influx of posts and visuals, verifying the truth will become increasingly difficult, he said.
Turkey, in particular, faces heightened risks of disinformation due to its polarized political landscape, lack of government transparency, and concentrated media ownership. Rapidly evolving crises like earthquakes and wildfires exacerbate the problem, as misinformation spreads swiftly in such contexts. Even under ordinary circumstances, accessing accurate information can be challenging.
Fact-checking in Turkey: The role of teyit.org
Teyit.org, one of Turkey’s longest-running fact-checking organizations, has been part of Meta’s verification program since 2016. The organization identified false information on Meta platforms and reported it back to the company, which would then take measures like reducing content visibility, issuing user warnings, or removing posts entirely. Foça emphasized that their work followed international standards and oversight, adding, “We verified the information, but Meta made the final decisions on whether to take action.”
Foça also explained that Meta’s fact-checking initiative began in 2016 following criticism that Donald Trump’s presidential election victory was influenced by fake news. He linked the program’s termination now, during another U.S. election cycle, to broader trends in digital politics.
“Since Trump’s election and Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (now X), we’ve seen digital platforms used to consolidate power. Trump has leveraged digital technologies as a tool of influence since 2016, with the Cambridge Analytica scandal being a key episode in institutionalizing such efforts,” Foça said.
A warning of increased societal polarization
Foça cautioned that removing barriers to disinformation will likely amplify societal polarization. “Disinformation will continue to spread rapidly, and as digital dependency grows, people’s analytical skills and ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood have already diminished,” he said. While teyit.org is working to improve digital literacy and raise awareness, Foça warned that without decisive action from platforms like Meta, such efforts alone will not suffice.
He further criticized social media platforms for prioritizing political and economic interests over user welfare, stating, “The internet oligarchy enables the dissemination of content that affects users’ mental states, from the U.S. to Turkey, without sufficient accountability. In the long term, disinformation transforms into a mechanism that deepens polarization and erodes trust, instead of contributing to social benefit.”
Foça’s comments underline the challenges ahead as Meta shifts its focus, leaving users to navigate an increasingly complex and unregulated information environment.
