This 180-degree change is a response to the second term of the presidency of Donald Trump and the way of competition, such as Community Notes X. Meta decided not to invest any more money in the program. Now, it is expected that the users of Facebook and Instagram themselves will decide whether the content is disinformation or not. In the statement where Zuckerberg announced that he will dissolve the program, he said that fact-checkers succumbed to political bias, destroying other trust. rather than made in the USA. However, for Laura Zommer, the former director of Chequeado (one of the most important Spanish-speaking verifier organizations) and LatamChequea, and now the leader of Factchequeado (verification media aimed at the Latino community in the US), Zuckerberg’s statement is not surprising. , and they have no scientific evidence for their claims. “Far from censoring, fact-checkers add context,” Zommer said. “We have never advocated the removal of content. We want citizens to have better information to make their own decisions. “Zommer, who is skeptical about the dissolution of this program. benefits of Meta, emphasizing that the company contradicts itself by ending the fact-checking program, especially since it has highlighted positive results in the month Zommer also agrees with Angie Drobnic Holan, current director of IFCN, who, in a post on LinkedIn, wrote: “It is unfortunate that this decision occurred due to extreme political pressure from the new administration and its supporters a new wave of disinformation “The evidence makes us think this is going to be bad. Until it is implemented, we will see, but we can say that, during the Trump campaign, one of the main disinformation narratives is against migrants, such as those who say that migrants will commit fraud. It’s false. The data from the past makes us think that this decision may affect the Latino community in the US, “said Zommer to WIRED en Español. Anti-immigrant rhetoric does not only endanger the ecosystem. In an era when fake videos and audio. Scams are widespread, having vital information will be a priority.Spanish-Language Fact-Checking Media At Risk Latin America’s news ecosystem, economically “Paying for Facebook’s fact-checking program still maintains fact-checking organizations and news organizations with fact-checking parts. So I think, most likely, if the organization is not able to diversify, a lot will be lost,” said Pablo Medina, disinformation research editor at the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism, CLIP. When the decision applies. only for the US for now, The disappearance of the project has raised alarm in the Hispanic media ecosystem “The attack written by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the so-called ‘secret court’ that promotes platform censorship in Latin America-false claims-shows that Brazil is the main focus of the company’s concerns,” said Tai Nalon, CEO of Aos Fatos, one of the most important fact-checking media in the global south. fully aligned with the rhetoric of Donald Trump, a regular detractor of journalism and fact-checking, “said Nalon. “The arguments used by Zuckerberg have been widely exploited by the right-wing around the world to delegitimize effective initiatives against disinformation. Since there has never been any dissatisfaction with the work of fact-checkers before, this seems to be a step aimed at obtaining some political advantage We know that Meta faces an antitrust case in the US, and being close to the government can be an advantage for the company. Evidence from the past gives reason for the news ecosystem to worry. WIRED en español contacted Meta for this story Through a media representative, the company responded with a statement (in Spanish) of the decision and said that this does not apply to WhatsApp and that it is only for the verification of the US. This story originally appeared in WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spain.
