Independent fact checking units working under contract to Meta in Australia will continue their work despite the social media company moving to a community-led system in the US.
However, the unanswered question is: For how long?
AAP said its fact-checking agency AAP FactCheck's contract with Meta was not impacted by the US decision and its work would continue in 2025.
“Independent fact-checkers are a vital safeguard against the spread of harmful misinformation and disinformation that threatens to undermine free democratic debate in Australia and aims to manipulate public opinion," chief executive Lisa Davies said.
An RMIT spokesperson said that RMIT Lookout is an independent, IFCN accredited, fact-checking service that aims to continue upholding the integrity of public information.
“Meta has provided an assurance that partnerships in the region will continue as usual in 2025,” the spokesperson said.
“The contract between RMIT and Meta is reviewed annually.”
Another notable fact-checking organisation – that of Agence France Presse (AFP), which has its own local AFP Fact Check department – told AdNews that Meta’s move is a “hard hit” for both the fact-checking community and journalism.
“We’re assessing the situation,” AFP said.
Fact-checking on the two Facebook and Instagram will be replaced by a Community Notes program, similar to what currently exists on X (formerly Twitter), owned by fellow billionaire and incoming Trump administration appointee Elon Musk.
In a video accompanying a post published to the Meta newsroom, founder Mark Zuckerberg said that fact checkers had become “too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created, especially in the US.”
In 2023, Meta expanded the capacity for its third-party fact-checking program by providing a one-off funding boost.
In April 2024, AAP and Google expanded their own fact checking partnership, which started in 2019. The deal increases AAP’s capacity to provide fact-checks, as well as analysing global misinformation trends and producing video explainers.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese also weighed in, less than six weeks after the federal government passed a law to ban children under 16 from social media, which includes the likes of Facebook and Instagram.
At a news conference, Albanese said social media has a social responsibility.
“The criticism that social media will make about our decision and legislation to ban social media for those under 16 is one that we don't resile from,” he said.
“We will stand up for Australia's national interest. I've met too many parents who've lost their young ones as a result of the impact that social media has had. We know that the rise in mental health issues for young people is linked with social media.
“All of the experts tell us that that's the case. So, we'll continue to act in our national interest. And I say to social media they have a social responsibility and they should fulfil it.”
Not everyone was shocked with the move to eradicate the fact-checking program - Monash University’s associate professor for news and political communication, Emma Briant, said that anyone surprised by this news learned nothing from Zuckerberg's role in the Cambridge Analytica affair.
“While they may pay lip service to the policy concerns of the moment, tech oligarchs run their companies to maximise profits and minimise costs, not to be society's protector or mediate a neutral, democratic town hall,” she said.
“This applies to all of them, not just Elon Musk. There is nothing to stop tech oligarchs weaponising their platforms to suit political objectives when the moment is right.”
Briant said that fact-checking is only one small part of the solution to the problem of contemporary propaganda.
“Policymakers often put too much faith in labelling false claims, and in so doing they miss an opportunity to take on the larger problems of a manipulative technology infrastructure hiding behind claims of neutrality and free speech,” she said.
“With at least 13 billionaires in his new administration, including Big Tech oligarchs like Musk, Trump has sent a powerful message across America's wealthy right wing elite - now is your time, not theirs.
“Clearly Mark Zuckerberg heard him loud and clear. Ordinary citizens should be very concerned.”
The founder of digital marketing agency King Kong, Sabri Suby, took an opposing view however, saying that the move from Meta signals a dramatic shift in content over the coming months, giving brands greater freedom in how they communicate and what they can promote – a freedom they haven’t had for the past six years.
“Brands have the opportunity to push the boundaries and speak to a broader audience, and if they don’t, they will miss out on cut-through while they are lumped in a stagnant sameness,” he said.
“They better move fast – money loves speed. Removing the muzzle will change the algorithm. All of us are going to see different content.
“The tide has certainly changed since incoming President Donald Trump was elected and used newer, long-form media to not have his speech suppressed. And Zuck sees the writing on the wall with the alignment between Trump and Elon, meaning that unless he jumps on board and gives the people what they want, there will be major recourse on the performance of his platform.”
Suby said that this is a move to have the internet more aligned with what it was designed to be, which is to allow for free speech.
“Yes, there is certainly an ugly underbelly that will no doubt open up a whole lot of negativity, but that is also the world we live in - you can’t put guardrails on the internet,” he said.
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