Truth, Lies, And The Wisdom Of Crowds

Meta is shaking things up – again… and in a big way.

The tech giant, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has decided to scrap its third-party fact-checking program.
Instead?
It’s taking a page from Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) by rolling out “community notes,” a system where users themselves provide context for posts.
Think of it as a crowdsourced truth experiment.

The big question is:

Does this make Meta more transparent – or less trustworthy?
Meta’s decision marks a dramatic pivot.
Since 2016, the company has partnered with dozens of organizations to combat misinformation.
That effort began after the fallout from Donald Trump’s first election, when Facebook (now Meta) was criticized for failing to stop the spread of fake news and foreign propaganda.
But Zuckerberg now says the system created “too many mistakes and too much censorship.”
Mistakes? Sure.

Censorship? Depends on who you ask.

For years, Republican lawmakers have blasted Meta for allegedly silencing conservative voices.
Now, with President-elect Trump poised to take office again, Meta’s timing feels… strategic?

The X Effect.

Like X’s “community notes” program, Meta’s new approach will rely on user contributions to flag and contextualize posts across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

The idea?

Empower the crowd to police the platform.

The reality?

Crowdsourcing truth is messy.
On X, community notes have been praised for adding transparency to misleading posts, but they’ve also been criticized for inconsistencies and inaccuracies.

Can Meta do better?

Or is this just shifting responsibility from professionals to amateurs?
There’s no ignoring the optics here.
In the lead-up to this shift, Zuckerberg has been cozying up to Trump and his allies.
He’s publicly expressed regret for removing COVID-19-related posts under government pressure.
He’s praised Trump as “badass” and even dined with him at Mar-a-Lago.
Meanwhile, Meta’s newly-appointed head of global affairs, Joel Kaplan, has called Trump’s upcoming presidency a “real opportunity” to recommit to free expression.
Add UFC CEO and Trump ally Dana White to Meta’s board of directors, and you’ve got the makings of a strategic realignment.
The transition will also see Meta’s trust and safety team moved from California to Texas, signaling a geographic and cultural shift within the company.

The stakes couldn’t be higher.

But what happens when the pendulum swings too far the other way?

What’s Next?

Meta’s decision to ditch fact-checking raises fundamental questions about Big Tech’s role in public discourse.
Are these platforms arbiters of truth – or just neutral arenas for debate?
And if they’re the latter, who holds them accountable when the debate goes off the rails?
In an era where trust in institutions is at an all-time low, Meta’s gamble is bold.
The question is:
Will it pay off—or will it backfire spectacularly?

And… what will happen in Canada where news is currently banned?

This is what Elias Makos and I discussed on CJAD 800 AM. Listen in right here.

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