A network of fact-checkers is set to lose a major source of income and may close shop The parent company of Facebook is Meta It announced that it would end its contracts and move towards a system closer to the X Community Feedback.
“We don't have a lot of time left. At this rate, we'll be done in a few months,” said Jesse Stiller, managing editor of Check Your Fact. Fox News Digital.
“We were devastated by this. This was completely unexpected and way out of the league for us. We didn't know this decision was being considered until Mark dropped the video overnight. We have no idea what the future will look like for the website going forward.” He added.
On January 7, 2025, Meta revealed that it would end its fact-checking program and lift some content moderation policies in order to “restore freedom of expression” across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
Fact-checkers told Fox News Digital that Meta's decision to end its third-party fact-checking program will have a significant economic impact on their business. (Nicholas Tokat/AFP via Getty Images)
Prior to the announcement, Meta repeatedly stressed that it was committed to long-term support Independent industry fact-checking To tackle “misinformation” online.
In a blog post dated April 2022, Meta claimed to have built the “largest global fact-checking network ever” and contributed more than $100 million to fact-checking programs since 2016.
Meta did not respond when asked how much money she provided to third-party fact-checkers before announcing the end of the program in early January 2025.
According to the company's website, Meta began prioritizing “additional support and resources” for fact-checkers in early 2020 to combat health “misinformation.”
As part of this initiative, Meta launched a $1 million emergency grant program in partnership with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to address information about the COVID-19 pandemic.
IFCN established the CoronaVirusFacts Alliance, where nearly 100 fact-checking organizations in more than 70 countries have produced more than 11,000 fact-checks about COVID-19 across 40 languages. Seven fact-checking organizations' projects focused specifically on “misinformation” related to vaccines.
Meta's announcement to restore “freedom of expression” comes after years of scrutiny against the company's fact-checking and content moderation practices. (Nicholas Tokat/AFP/Jason Henry/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In August, Zuckerberg admitted that the Biden White House pressured Meta to censor some health information during the pandemic.
Zuckerberg told podcast host Joe Rogan in January that members of the Biden administration He will “scream” and “curse” on his employees, demanding that they remove the information, especially during the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine program.
Meta later awarded the IFCN a $1 million “Climate Disinformation Grant.” The grant, in part, provided funding to organizations working to combat “climate misinformation” and supported collaborative partnerships between fact-checkers and “climate experts.”
The company also provided funding to fact-checkers to “increase their ability to promote reliable information” ahead of the 2022 elections in various countries, including the United States, Australia, France and India.
In the United States, Meta has worked with the following third-party fact-checkers: AFP – Hub, Check Your Fact, Factcheck.org, Lead Stories, PolitiFact, Science Feedback, Reuters Fact Check, TelevisaUnivision, The Dispatch, and USA Today.
All ten of these partners are expected to lose their funding. It's not clear when or if the meta changes will affect overseas fact-checkers.
Meta and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke at length about the pressure he faced from the government, especially the Biden administration, to censor content on their behalf. (Joe Rogan Experience)
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Joel Kaplan, Meta's chief global affairs officer, claimed that these fact-checkers… Failed to remain neutral.
“We went to independent, third-party fact-checkers,” Kaplan said. “It's become clear that there's a lot of political bias in what they choose to fact-check, because, essentially, they have to fact-check everything they see on the platform.”
Since moving away from third-party fact-checking, several fact-checking organizations with financial ties to the tech conglomerate have issued statements criticizing Zuckerberg and Meta's claims of political bias.
Previously, these groups often received money for each published fact-check using meta platforms and tools.
For example, PolitiFact, according to its financial disclosures, It received more than five percent of its 2024 revenue from the partnership.
PolitiFact told Fox News Digital that the organization, one of the original participants in the third-party fact-checking program, would be affected by the company's decision to discontinue it.
META issues sweeping changes to restore freedom of expression on Facebook and Instagram
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that his company will adopt a new fact-checking system similar to the Community Notes system on Elon Musk's X device. (Chris Unger/Zova LLC/Jonathan Ra/NoorPhoto/Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
They also pointed out on Fox News Digital comments made by Poynter Institute President Neil Brown, a PolitiFact parent, who called Meta's decision a “disappointing withdrawal” that “perpetuates a misunderstanding of its own platform.”
“Facts are not censorship. Fact-checkers never censored anything. Meta always kept the papers. It is time to stop using inflammatory and false language in describing the role of journalists and fact-checkers,” Brown said.
Lead Stories, a Facebook fact-checking tool that employs several former CNN alumni, He told the New York Times She now does much of her work for TikTok's parent company, Bytedance. Meta was previously Fact Checker's primary client.
The company was shocked by Zuckerberg's announcement, considering that Lead Stories signed a new one-year contract with Meta just three weeks ago. Lead Stories admitted it would see a drop in revenue after cutting ties with Meta, a fact that would result in “headcount reductions,” according to co-founder Alan Duke.
“Removing fact-checkers from social media platforms is like disbanding your fire department.” He told CNN in early January.
META issues sweeping changes to restore freedom of expression on Facebook and Instagram
Meta pads are displayed on a smartphone screen, with the Meta logo visible in the background in Chania, Greece, on August 9, 2024. (Nicholas Kokovelis/Noor Photo via Getty Images)
“Fact-based journalism is what USA Today does best,” Christine Roberts, chief content officer at Gannett Media (parent company of USA Today), told Fox News Digital.
She continued: “We are the country's trusted news source because we provide essential, unbiased content for all people. Truth and facts serve everyone – not the right or the left – and that is what we will continue to provide.”
The company did not provide information about its financial relationship with Meta.
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TelevisaUnivision, Lead Stories, Factcheck.org, AFP – Hub, The Dispatch and Science Feedback did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Reuters declined to comment.
