\n<\/p>\n
Meta says its controversial decision to put an end to its fact-checking program hasn\u2019t impacted advertiser spend. On its Q4 2024 call, Meta CFO Susan Li assured investors that advertiser demand remains strong and the company\u2019s commitment to brand safety remains unchanged, despite the new measures. Meanwhile, CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted that the community notes feature that replaced fact-checking is simply the \u201cbetter\u201d system, and he credited X with the original idea.<\/p>\n
Li told investors Meta hadn\u2019t \u201cseen any noticeable impact from our content policy changes on advertiser spend,\u201d but didn\u2019t share any specifics. She also pointed to AI-powered tools as helping businesses maximize the value of their ad spend.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg added more color around the reasons behind Meta\u2019s fact-checking decision, announced earlier this month<\/a>, which only applies to the U.S<\/a>. for the time being.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not afraid to admit when someone does something that\u2019s better than us,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s sort of our job to go and just do the best work and implement the best system.\u201d<\/p>\n The executive also pushed back at people\u2019s interpretation of the end of fact-checking as meaning that Meta no longer cares about adding context or combating misinformation.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not right,\u201d Zuckerberg said. \u201cI actually think that the community notes system like what X has had for a while is actually just more effective than what we were doing before, and I think our product is going to get better because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Certainly, there were many<\/a> hilarious<\/a> and often<\/a> lewd<\/a> memes<\/a> trolling<\/a> Zuckerberg\u2019s decision to end fact-checking, most of which were focused on the executive himself.<\/p>\n It comes as no surprise that Meta would end fact-checking in the U.S. just as Trump comes into power, given Republicans\u2019 long-held concerns that they were being censored on social media when fact-checks were applied to their posted content.<\/p>\n Meta\u2019s move to directly rip off X\u2019s idea as its fact-checking replacement, rather than invent a new system of its own, is also par for the course. The company has a long history of copying ideas<\/a> from its competition, like when it borrowed the concept of Stories from Snap<\/a>. Zuckerberg years ago admitted<\/a> this in congressional antitrust hearings when he admitted that Facebook had \u201ccertainly adapted\u201d other features that competitors had led in. These days, he\u2019s less shy about giving credit to those ideas Meta is taking for its own.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n