Meta Ending Fact-checks 'bad For Democracy': Brazil
Muhammad Irfan Published January 09, 2025 | 01:40 AM
Rio de Janeiro, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jan, 2025) A decision by social media giant Meta to end fact-checking in the United States is "bad for democracy," Brazil's newly appointed communication minister Sidonio Palmeira said Wednesday.
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stunned many with his announcement Tuesday that he was pulling the plug on fact-checking at Facebook and Instagram in the United States, citing concerns about political bias.
Palmeira said Meta's decision was "bad for democracy because (without fact-checking) you don't control the spread of hate, misinformation and fake news."
"That's the problem. We need to have control, we need to regulate social media, that's what's happening in Europe."
Zuckerberg also slammed what he called censorship in Europe and Latin America, leaving many countries wondering if they will see fact-checking pulled in their own countries.
Brazil's public prosecutor's office sent a letter to local Meta representatives giving the company 30 days to clarify whether it intends to implement the changes in the country.
Instead of professional fact-checking, Zuckerberg will shift the responsibility of debunking falsehoods to ordinary users under a model known as "Community Notes," popularized by X.
Experts have warned that ending the fact-checking program opens the floodgates for harmful misinformation.
Brazil's Supreme Court has taken a strong stance on regulating social media platforms.
Last year, judge Alexandre de Moraes blocked Elon Musk's X platform for 40 days for failing to comply with a series of court orders against online disinformation.
Moraes warned on Wednesday that social networks "will not be a lawless land" in Brazil.
"They will only continue to operate if they respect Brazilian law, regardless of the bravado of irresponsible leaders of Big Tech," he said.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also raised the scourge of disinformation, during a ceremony marking two years since supporters of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro stormed the seats of power in Brasilia.
"We defend, and will always defend freedom of expression. But we will not tolerate hate speech and disinformation, which endanger people's lives and incite violence against the rule of law," Lula said.
AFP currently works in 26 languages with Facebook's fact-checking program, including in the United States and the European Union.
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