MANILA, Philippines — In a crucial policy reversal ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, tech company Meta Platforms announced on Tuesday, January 7 that it was scrapping its fact-checking program in the US.
This move comes as Americans navigate splintered realities brought about by failures in social media policies, generational divides in media consumption habits, and hyper-partisan narratives that bring the worst in human nature.
American conservatives have long claimed to be champions of so-called “free speech” and reduced censorship, alleging that fact checkers are silencing right-wing voices in favor of liberal ones. Facebook’s fact-checking partner organizations and other journalists, who assert that fact checks do not favor certain parties or ideologies, were caught blindsided by the decision.
What does this mean for today’s already fragmented and corrupted information ecosystem, and how does this spell danger for journalists and truth-tellers in other countries, including the Philippines?
Rappler lead forensics researcher Pauline Macaraeg sits down with Rappler CEO and Nobel laureate Maria Ressa about the political context surrounding Meta’s decision, the dangerous precedent it sets for the already divided online landscape, and how this impacts the battle for facts.
Catch the Rappler Talk interview on Wednesday, January 8, at 7 pm. — Rappler.com