Dear Friend,

In March Meta shared its plan for Community Notes; the programme that is based on consensus between users, not objective facts or data. The company says it will be a “less biased” replacement for independent fact checking. This forms part of a dangerous new narrative that equates fact checking with censorship, and follows Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement in January that his Facebook and Instagram platforms would be cutting ties with fact checkers in the US.

Despite Meta’s promise of transparency, the company is yet to share anything from its US pilot of Community Notes. But one thing remains clear: Meta’s intention is to remove fact checking from its platforms globally.

Full Fact is an impartial charity, but we will not be impartial about the principle that verifiable facts matter. Nor are we a charity reliant on any one source of funding. But in this new era of growing hostility to fact checking, we will need to remain creative and agile—both in our engagement with internet companies, and in our approach to fundraising. Our core group of monthly regular givers are a crucial part of that continued effort. Please join them today.