Meta tests fact-check replacement in Latin America

Meta announced on Wednesday the commencement of testing Community Notes in 16 Spanish-speaking countries across Latin America, signaling a shift away from the professional fact-checking program it previously ran in conjunction with partner organizations. The initiative, inspired by the model utilized by Elon Musk's X platform, aims to replace the checks conducted by accredited newsrooms and fact-checking agencies, which Meta discontinued in the United States last year.

Meta expressed confidence that the notes would eventually become the standard method for adding context to misleading posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, potentially rendering the fact-checking program obsolete. However, the company refrained from specifying a timeline for the full transition, stating that it would occur once the product's viability was assured.

Users in the 16 selected countries could begin signing up as contributors starting Wednesday, but public visibility of the notes was temporarily suspended during the testing phase, with independent fact-checking operations continuing unaffected. The participating countries included Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, but Portuguese-speaking Brazil was excluded.

The test did not elicit a favorable response from the head of the International Fact-Checking Network, Angie Drobnic Holan, who expressed deep concerns regarding Meta's decision. She emphasized that community notes alone were insufficient in mitigating the impact of harmful falsehoods on social media platforms. The announcement coincided with a series of elections in Latin America that have seen a notable shift towards right-wing parties in recent years.

Hard-right conservatives, including those in the United States and Europe, have expressed skepticism towards fact-checking programs on social media, alleging political bias. The elected leaders in the region have vowed to adopt a hands-off regulatory approach, emulating the strategies of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and former U.S. President Donald Trump.

These leaders leverage social media to cultivate a favorable image and disseminate disinformation. In certain instances, they have been accused of employing troll armies to create the illusion of widespread support. Meta's decision unfolded as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio embarked on a tour of the region, visiting nations whose administrations now align with Trump administration policies.

Just prior to Donald Trump's second inauguration, Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced the end of the company's fact-checking partnerships in the United States, replacing them with Community Notes. This move was perceived by some, particularly those adhering to Republican ideologies, as a reversion to principles of free expression.

Testing of Community Notes in the United States commenced in March of the previous year, with the notes becoming publicly visible three weeks later, marking the dissolution of the US fact-checking program. Meta reported that the Community Notes initiative in the US had since garnered over 1.4 million contributors, who had generated more than 50,000 posts across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

However, the company's Oversight Board, an independent entity tasked with reviewing moderation decisions, cautioned in March that Community Notes were inadequate replacements for professional fact-checking in politically volatile countries during tense electoral periods outside the United States. Phil Chetwynd, AFP's global news director, highlighted that AFP's verification teams in the region had delivered exceptional work over an eight-year period, which Meta had previously acknowledged.

Chetwynd stressed that community notes should not be viewed as alternatives to professional fact-checking and that credible research indicated their effectiveness required accurate, ethically sourced, fact-checked journalism and high-quality reference materials as the foundation for their creation. The optimal approach, according to Chetwynd, was for fact-checking and community notes to complement each other, with the emphasis on the quality of the notes rather than their quantity.