Getting rid of fact checkers is good
But while this is a good thing, what comes next? That will be the true test.
Back in 2018, I was penalized by Facebook because I shared Rick Santorum's Google Plus page six years earlier. I have been hit with a number of fraudulent "fact checks," including a feeble attempt to debunk a meme by fabricating something the meme did not allege, a "fact check" on the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine on a meme that had absolutely nothing to do with the virus or the vaccine, a fact check on obvious satire, a fact check on a post where I debunked false information, and another fact check on a post where I debunked a doctored photo.
Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was removing "fact checkers" on posts and replacing them with "community notes" similar to what is used on X. (Formerly Twitter.) Whether this will be an improvement remains to be seen, but getting rid of the "fact checkers" is itself an excellent idea. This is because the "fact checkers" have totally discredited, beclowned and humiliated themselves on many occasions. The fraudulent "fact checks" applied to my content are a tiny percentage of a percentage of the many lies and hoaxes perpetrated by the "fact checkers."
The real purpose of the so-called "fact checks" was always to suppress conservatives, not to prevent the spread of "false information" on Facebook. This is why Facebook suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, discussions of the efficacy of COVID-19 pandemic mitigation measures, and discussions about the origins of the novel coronavirus that appeared in late 2019. The virus, by the way, originated from a lab leak in Communist China, and the United Nations was openly lying about and attempting to cover up human to human transmission of COVID-19 in January of 2020.
This is also why Facebook downgraded conservative publications, drastically decreasing their reach.
Now, does this actually mean anything? Maybe. We will see how the "community notes" system goes, and whether it continues to put fraudulent "fact checks" all over truthful posts. And while Facebook has promised to remove less content, that means little if the reach of that content is throttled. Removing content is much more honest and transparent than making sure nobody ever sees the "offensive" post. Will Facebook give us "free speech" with one hand and take it back with the other?
Yes, Facebook is a private company, and they can do what they want. But if Facebook truly wants to be seen as a public square, and if Facebook wants to restore its reputation that has been shredded by nearly a decade of fraudulent "fact checks," they will actually follow through on their promises and also stop suppressing the reach of posts, allowing us to see the content we want to see.