Australians are being warned they could be exposed to a tsunami of misinformation with Meta's plans to abandon independent fact-checking services. or signup to continue reading The social media giant's decision to end its third-party fact-checking services on Facebook and Instagram in the US has sparked concerns from Australian politicians and the media union over potential impacts on local institutions. Fact-checking and site moderation have been crucial for social media accountability, Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance federal media president Karen Percy said.
She warned to expect "a tsunami" of unchecked and unverified information. "The news Meta will no longer fund such checks and balances is alarming and irresponsible," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "If (Meta chief executive) Mark Zuckerberg's plan is allowed to go ahead, it will make the jobs of legitimate news providers all the harder and further undermine what is left of Australia's media industry.
"The social media companies must uphold, not undermine, democratic principles and values." The federal government has attempted to mitigate misinformation and disinformation by investing in news services such as the Australian Associated Press (AAP) - which runs a fact-checking service - and public broadcasters ABC and SBS, and encouraging Australians to get their news from trusted sources. But misinformation has only continued to grow as a federal election looms, breeding worries about Meta's latest move.
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