The prominent fact-checking organization that Facebook uses to moderate political content has reacted to news that it will revamp its fact-checking to better avoid bias, publishing an article outlining its disappointment and opposition to the move. did.
“Reed Stories was surprised and disappointed to learn for the first time through media reports and press releases of the termination of the meta-third-party fact-checking partnership in which Reed Stories has been a part since 2019,” said Reed Stories Editor. Maarten Schenk wrote on Tuesday. This was in response to Meta’s announcement that it would make significant changes to its fact-checking process to “restore freedom of expression.”
Lead Stories is a Facebook fact checker that employs several former CNN alumni, including Alan Duke and Ed Payne, and has become one of the most prominent fact checkers used by Facebook in recent years.
Fox News Digital first reported on Tuesday that Meta would end its fact-checking program and lift speech restrictions to “restore freedom of expression” across Facebook, Instagram and the Meta platform, adding that current content moderation practices He admitted that he had gone “too far.”
Conservatives rejoice over ‘stunning’ meta-censorship announcement: ‘A huge victory for free speech’
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke about the new Facebook News feature at the Paley Center for Media in New York City on October 25, 2019.
“Since Trump was first elected in 2016, legacy media has been talking about how disinformation is a threat to democracy,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video message Tuesday. I wrote the article at Stop.” “We have tried to address these concerns in good faith without becoming the arbiter of truth. But fact checkers are too politically biased, especially in the U.S. It has destroyed trust.”
“What kind of political bias?” The Lead Stories article says, “Mark Zuckerberg says organizations participating in Meta’s U.S. third-party fact-checking program are “too politically biased.” “I’m sorry to hear you criticize me,” he asked before explaining.
“In particular, one of the requirements that Meta has put in place to be part of the partnership is to be a certified signatory of the IFCN Code of Principles, which explicitly requires a “commitment to nonpartisanship and impartiality.” Because it was included, the article states: We were very surprised by this statement, as neither we nor IFCN had ever received a complaint from Meta regarding political bias in the years we have participated in the partnership. ”
Meta said in their announcement that they would be moving to a moderation system in line with X’s community notes, but Lead Stories seems to be having trouble with this.
“However, in our experience and that of others, community notes about It is unlikely to appear. [sic] “Ultimately, truth doesn’t care about consensus or agreement; the shape of the Earth remains the same even if social media users disagree,” Reid Stories writes.
Jonathan Turley: Meta Zuckerberg launches free speech movement that could be truly transformative
Meta Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg (ANDREW CABALLERO- REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty) Image)
Lead Stories says that community notes are “completely opaque about their contributors, leaving readers to speculate about bias, funding, loyalties, sources and expertise, with no way to challenge or correct them.” Fact checkers on the other hand,” he added. IFCN calls for full transparency about who they are, who is funding them, and what methodologies and sources they use to reach their conclusions. There is. ”
Schenk added: “Fact checking is adding verified and sourced information so people can decide what to believe. It’s an important part of free speech.” .
Duke said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Lead Stories will continue.
“With no support from the meta, we have to reduce production, but the lead story continues,” Duke said. “We are a global company, and most of our business is currently conducted outside the United States. We publish in eight languages other than English, and that will be affected.”
Some conservatives lamented Meta’s changes following years of conservative backlash against Facebook’s fact checkers overall for important news stories, including suppression of bombshell reports about Hunter Biden’s laptop. He slammed Reed Stories on social media over the incident.
“Of all the fact-checking companies, Reed Stories is the worst,” British-American conservative writer Ian Howarth wrote on X, adding, “The fact that they’re going down the drain soon… I couldn’t be happier.”
Trump says meta has ‘come a long way’ after Zuckerberg completes platform fact-checking
(Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The executive director of fact-checker PolitiFact, which also uses Facebook, strongly reprimanded Mr. Zuckerberg following Tuesday’s announcement.
In a statement posted to X following Zuckerberg’s announcement, Aaron Sharockman said, “If Meta is upset, they should look in the mirror because they created a censorship tool.” Ta.
“Facebook’s decision to exclude independent journalists from its content moderation program in the U.S. has nothing to do with free speech or censorship,” Sharrockman said. “Mark Zuckerberg’s decision is so nuanced. That’s not it,” he said angrily.
He pushed back against Zuckerberg’s accusations of political bias, saying it was Meta’s platform, not fact-checkers, that was actually censoring posts.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once claimed that Facebook had suppressed 18 million posts containing “misinformation” about the coronavirus. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Let me be clear: Deletion and penalty decisions for posts and accounts are made by Meta and Facebook, not by fact checkers. They made the rules,” Sharrockman said.
“While we are obviously disappointed by this news, Lead Stories would like to thank the many people at Meta that we have worked with over the past few years and would like to thank the many people at Meta that we have worked with over the past few years,” Schenck concluded his post on Lead Stories. I intend to continue my mission.” To paraphrase our main page slogan: “Just because something is trending without a fact-checking label doesn’t mean it’s true.”
Fox News Digital’s Gabriel Hays and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter for FOX News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email your tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
Source link
