Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include breaking news of Meta’s decision to discontinue the company’s DEI programs.
Many families are accustomed to the intoxicated uncle at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner who never knows when to stop talking.
More than likely, he rambles incoherently about a topic he knows nothing about, determined to spread self-proclaimed expertise on the matter.
Those seated nearby find reasons to fade away from the table until Unc is the only one left. At this point, he’s practically talking to himself.
It appears Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is going to allow that proverbial, incomprehensible family member to remain in every conversation. In fact, it’s as if Meta will have posts perpetually monitored by a gang of virtual drunk uncles who manage to keep spawning around the dinner table.
On Tuesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social media juggernaut will cease fact-checking posts. Instead, Facebook and Instagram will operate like community blog posts as a form of “free expression.”
“It’s time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram,” Zuckerberg said in an Instagram video posted Tuesday morning. “I started building social media to give people a voice.”
The billionaire tech bro said much has changed over the past several years concerning free speech.
“Governments and legacy media have pushed to censor more and more,” Zuckerberg said. “A lot of this is clearly political. But there’s also a lot of legitimately bad stuff out there: drugs, terrorism, child exploitation. These are things that we take very seriously, and I want to make sure that we handle responsibly.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Harvard dropout added that Meta built what he called “complex systems to moderate content,” but claimed mishaps still happened where millions were mistakenly censored. “The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards, once again, prioritizing speech. So, we’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said.
He went on to suggest Meta’s fact-checkers became “too politically biased” and “destroyed more trust than they created.”
Instead of fact-checkers, Zuckerberg said Facebook, Instagram, and Threads will rely on a Community Notes system, similar to how X (the website formally known as Twitter) operates.
Post restrictions will be relaxed, policy enforcement will be amended, and it will be the responsibility of other social media users to report offensive content.
“The reality is that this is a tradeoff. It means we’re going to catch less bad stuff, but we’ll also reduce the number of innocent people’s posts and accounts that we accidentally take down,” Zuckerberg said.
The flip-it-and-reverse-it move came just ahead of an Axios report Friday that Meta will dismantle its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The outlet, known for covering tech and media, said the company update will take place immediately in hiring, development and procurement practices.
“The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” a memo from the vice president of Meta human relations read, according to CNBC.
“The term ‘DEI’ has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others. We believe there are other ways to build an industry-leading workforce and leverage teams made up of world-class people from all types of backgrounds.”
The memo did not appear to provide specific ways in which the company plans to maintain such an array of talent.
Instagram account Spiritual Word, known for informing the Black community about relevant topics, alerted its followers of the Meta switch-up.
“Nothing to see here. Just back to hiring under qualified white men while overlooking overqualified minorities and women,” someone replied to the Spiritual Word post. “White women will be hit the hardest as they have overly benefited from these types of programs.”
“Y’all know Zuckerberg doesn’t & has never cared for Black people or their lives,” another wrote under the post. “I’m not surprised.”
Meta’s overhaul comes after X was purchased in 2022 and rebranded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk to have a similar concept of total free speech. Mashable reported that many former X users actually flocked to Meta-owned Threads because of their distaste of Musk’s social media goals.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Musk praised Zuckerberg’s decision Tuesday.
Social media users were quick to chime in with their thoughts, questioning why fact-checking was such a bad thing.
“Today’s announcement from Mark Zuckerberg only confirms the agenda to control the narrative, dictate the truth, and shape social media in the image that the select few in power choose,” music producer Isaac Hayes III wrote on X.
Spiritual Word also posted about Zuckerberg’s “response to recent elections.”
“Number #6 collaborate with the person who wakes up every morning speaking hate to us,” an Instagram user commented under Spiritual Word’s post.
Others complained that restrictions had disproportionately affected Black people and that they never saw offensive posts or blatant lies be censored.
“I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have been flagged and put in Facebook jail for talking about current events with Black peoples [sic] and Im [sic] not a content creator,” a Threads user posted.
Meanwhile, other folks said they were done altogether.
“Well, Sista’s [sic] I will be looking to connect with you all on Fanbase … I read that it’s Black owned and it has the same features as Instagram, Facebook etc.…” a Threads user wrote. “I’ll be here until January 20th.”
Another Threads user lambasted Zuckerberg’s alleged “devotion to MAGA.”
“Zuck, thru [sic] his micro-monitoring/mining of data via partnerships that cover every corner of the internet; he has access to all our personal data including family photos & videos via Facebook & Instagram. Trump, in his pursuit of establishing a fascist regime is inheriting all of that,” racial trauma coach Kyle Howard wrote.
“Zuck has too much power over America’s personal data, that, with his embrace of White Supremacy & its systems & leadership creates a highly dangerous climate for Black & POC … beyond our comprehension,” Howard continued.
“For me, Zuck’s recent commitments inform me that it’s time to disassociate from all his platforms.”
According to Color of Change, a nonprofit that battles global injustice, Meta began monitoring posts during the 2016 presidential election “when false and misleading election information ran rampant on Facebook.”
“Now, with the incoming presidential term, Zuckerberg is trying to gain favor with the right by rolling back these necessary measures,” the organization posted Wednesday on Facebook. “Misinformation directly harms Black people online, weakening our social and political power. Incorrect information on social media creates division, benefitting [sic] conservative groups who want to manipulate our communities. Without intentional regulation, this will only continue.”
Zuckerberg also said Meta will relocate its safety and content moderation teams to Texas from California, following Musk’s 2024 announcement that X and SpaceX will relocate their headquarters to the Lone Star State.
Notably, Social media users are leery of Zuckerberg mimicking the footsteps of Musk, who got quite chummy with Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
According to tech media website Wired, Black Twitter/X users didn’t hesitate to jump ship after Musk allowed content moderation to dwindle, particularly when it came to offensive and hateful speech. Nonetheless, many Black social media users reportedly stayed on the site as a revolutionary act, aiming to fight the platform’s alleged technological systemic oppression.
Since that period, Musk has become something of a conservative caricature on X, posting everything from media conspiracy theories; liking posts criticizing diversity, equity, and inclusion practices; and providing revisionist-history takes on chattel slavery.
The seemingly random takes and Musk’s all-over-the-place style of posting could be, as some social media users find themselves experiencing on platforms like X, a symptom of overconsumption. Anyone who’s ever had that uncle around at holiday dinners perhaps knows the vibes.
What’s not clear is how Musk and Zuckerberg’s efforts to bind family ties to Trump will ultimately affect Black account holders on X and Meta’s channels. But Zuckerberg himself seems to be ready and willing to drink the new D.C. Diet Coke.
“Finally, we’re going to work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world that are going after American companies and pushing to censor more,” Zuckerberg said, claiming that the last four years under the Biden administration had “emboldened” other countries’ censorship.
“Now, we have the opportunity to restore free expression, and I am excited to take it.”
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