[ [link removed] ]Tell Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg: Fact-checking is on YOU, not us!

Dear MoveOn member,

By now you've maybe heard that Meta, the trillion-dollar company that runs
Facebook and Instagram, is no longer fact-checking content on its
platforms and abandoning most content moderation.^1 But even more alarming
than the announcement is the motive behind this disastrous move.

For years, Trump and congressional Republicans have unfairly accused Meta
and other social media platforms of censorship and stifling free speech
because of its efforts to curb hate speech and disinformation,
particularly since then-Facebook began fact-checking in the wake of the
2016 election.^2 Republicans complained that Meta’s third party
fact-checkers are biased and partisan, despite research discrediting these
claims.^3 Ironically, many of these same Republicans, including Trump
himself, have actually spread disinformation online to confuse voters or
stoke hate.

But now Meta, led by Zuckerberg, is scrambling to get on Trump's good side
before he takes office, at the expense of the rest of us.  It's no
coincidence that the trillion-dollar corporation made this announcement
just days before Donald Trump's inauguration and Meta's $1 million
donation to Trump’s inaugural fund.^4

Social media corporations must take responsibility for the content on
their platforms. Without fact-checking and content moderation, conspiracy
theories and lies can catch fire, and the consequences have the potential
to be grave. We have already seen the impact of these conspiracy theories
about vaccines and masks during the height of the COVID pandemic and the
lies spread in the aftermath of the 2020 election. 

[ [link removed] ]Will you sign the petition to urge Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to
reinstate fact-checking and content moderation practices immediately?

Demand Meta resume fact-checking and content moderation on Instagram and
Facebook! 

[3]Sign the petition

Regardless of political party, we can all fall victim to trusting
disinformation on the internet. And research shows that right-wing content
circulates and out-performs left-leaning content on Facebook.^5 So it
makes sense that Trump would attack social media corporations like Meta
for censorship when they attempt to curb disinformation. Now, without
fact-checking, Trump and MAGA Republicans will benefit as they push
conspiracy theories and lies to advance their self-serving agenda, while
users are left to fend for themselves.

Despite conservative cries, bias has not been identified in Meta's
fact-checking history.^6 It's obvious that this move is more about
protecting Meta from Republican attacks than protecting freedom of speech.
And the result for the rest of us is terrible—more unchecked conspiracy
theories and lies that target LGBTQ+ people, communities of color and
immigrants, the integrity of our elections, and the accuracy of major
national crises like COVID-19 and natural disasters. 

Meta has nearly three billion active users every month across the world.
Essentially, Trump and his MAGA allies want the freedom to lie and deceive
the American public en masse, and Mark Zuckerberg is going to make it
happen in hopes of becoming a part of Trump's loyalist circle. It's up to
us to demand Zuckerberg stop bowing to Trump and take seriously the
impacts of disinformation on Meta's platforms. 

[ [link removed] ]If you're against Meta's new policy of removing fact-checking from
Instagram and Facebook and are concerned about the impacts of
disinformation on our elections, communities, and lives, sign the petition
to urge Meta to reverse this policy now.

Thanks for all you do. 

–Kelsey, Nakia, Aliya, Asna, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Meta says it will end fact checking as Silicon Valley prepares for
Trump," NPR, January 7, 2025
[link removed]

2. Ibid.

3. "Zuckerberg and Meta are done pretending to care about mitigating the
harms their platforms cause," Media Matters for America, January 7, 2025
[link removed]

4. "Amazon to contribute $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. Meta is
also donating $1M," AP News, December 13, 2024
[link removed]

5. "Zuckerberg and Meta are done pretending to care about mitigating the
harms their platforms cause," Media Matters for America, January 7, 2025
[link removed]

6. "The Technology 202: New report calls conservative claims of social
media censorship 'a form of disinformation'," The Washington Post,
February 1, 2021
[link removed] 

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