Media.com's Views on Meta's Decision to Follow X's Approach to Free Expression and Abandon Fact-Checkers | Media.com

Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg made the <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2025/01/meta-more-speech-fewer-mistakes/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">significant announcement</a> that Meta will abandon fact-checking, pair-back content moderation policies and follow X's Community Notes model in a bid to “get back to our roots around free expression.”&nbsp;As a network that has chosen to verify all users to achieve its mission of restoring public trust in information online,&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;believes that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok will continue to be breeding grounds for potentially harmful content due to the vast number of aliases, fake profiles and bots.&nbsp;&nbsp;A more liberal approach to online expression - without the guardrails of mandatory profile verification - is an imperfect solution to addressing the harms that can be proliferated by social media, even though there is an obvious and genuine intent to empower users by liberating what they post online.&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;Knows There’s a Better Way&nbsp;The unverified (or optionally verified) approach to online profiles, which has been adopted by most of the major social networks, is what we are all used to; however, we believe it poses a considerable risk when coupled with the objective of unfettered freedom of expression.&nbsp; <a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;believes a more liberalized approach to content moderation,&nbsp; coupled with unverified sources, risks exacerbating the significant challenges faced by social networks in curbing misinformation and other types of harmful content.&nbsp;The technology to help solve this problem exists today, some of which is already live on&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>'s Beta version. Using technology that has been the status quo in the banking and finance industry for decades and is rapidly gaining momentum in other industries, we enable users to confirm the true identity of the owner of each piece of content posted on our network. This is in line with our mission of restoring public trust in online content. &nbsp;Transparency and Accountability for Online Content are Critical <a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;believes transparency and accountability are key to reducing mis/disinformation and other types of harmful content, and that this guardrail can effectively co-exist in an online environment that encourages free speech. By making user profile verification mandatory,&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;has created an environment where trusted content and free speech can thrive.&nbsp;Each piece of content published on&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;is traceable to its source.&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;users have the ability to view the verified name of the individual or entity that posted the content. This is significant for many reasons: it compels users to think twice about what they publish because they’re putting their actual name (not an alias they might hide behind) to their content; and, it means users in our online community can trust the connection between the content and its source.&nbsp;&nbsp;This simple, yet effective, mechanism improves the integrity and trustworthiness of content posted and consumed on our network, and can live hand-in-hand with freedom of expression.&nbsp;&nbsp;Verification is No Substitution for Content Moderation&nbsp;While user verification encourages transparency and accountability, it is an imperfect solution to ensuring information integrity.&nbsp; It builds trust and confidence in the source of the content you consume, but it is not to say the content itself is accurate or free from harm.&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>'s view is that content moderation will always – and should always - play a pivotal role in keeping online communities safe. While we have recently begun the roll-out of<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Media.com</a> in beta format, throughout 2025 we will be implementing a “three-check” flagging system that will include:&nbsp;<ul><li>technology that flags key words we’ve configured to find and surface content we consider to be harmful, offensive or inaccurate;&nbsp;</li><li>independent fact-checking of political stories that meet certain criteria using third-party services (which Meta will no longer be deploying); and</li><li>user-generated/community flags.&nbsp;</li></ul>We believe together these three systems, along with verification of everyone in the community, deliver an unparalleled level of trust, confidence and safety, while maintaining freedom of expression and content integrity.&nbsp;&nbsp;Policing Unverified Networks is Resource-intensive&nbsp;Meta's decision to abandon fact-checkers and transition to Community Notes in a similar manner to X is reflective of the immense challenges faced by social networks in treading the fine line between online safety, censorship, and freedom of speech.&nbsp;&nbsp;The complex systems Mr. Zuckerberg acknowledges in his video as being imperfect highlight the significant resources involved in establishing and maintaining systems for online communities that interact billions of times daily.&nbsp; These challenges are not lost on&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>, and we believe that our policy of verifying all users enables us to focus more on enhancing product features for our community, rather than expending copious resources policing the network to weed out bad actors.&nbsp;Getting the balance right between automated, manual and community-based systems is a challenge&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;is actively working on every day to provide the best possible experience for our online community.&nbsp;A New Standard For Online Community&nbsp;The recent update from Meta is a helpful reminder of the challenges faced by social networks in navigating the complex landscape of community safety, adherence to internationally diverse legislation, and sustaining a successful business.&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;recognizes the high barriers to entry that arise because of these complexities, and we believe we are well positioned with our team that is attune to and experienced in addressing these challenges.&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;considers trust a fundamental to a successful online community. Whether achieved through liberating content moderation guidelines or verifying user profiles, an opportunity exists for improvement in both areas, and&nbsp;<a href="http://media.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media.com</a>&nbsp;is excited to offer a new standard in online community and content creation.&nbsp;

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