Meta’s global policy head, Joel Kaplan, has announced that the company’s U.S. fact-checking program will officially conclude by Monday afternoon. This decision aligns with earlier changes disclosed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding content moderation policies, which included the discontinuation of the fact-checking initiative. Alongside this shift, Kaplan also indicated that Community Notes will soon be introduced across Meta’s social media platforms.

According to Kaplan, “By Monday afternoon, our fact-checking program in the U.S. will be officially over.” He confirmed that there will no longer be new fact checks or fact checkers involved in the process, reflecting Meta’s commitment to transitioning away from traditional fact-checking methods. This change will impact all of Meta’s major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The replacement for the fact-checking program is set to be Community Notes, a development that was first hinted at by Zuckerberg in January.

Reports indicate that the decision to dismantle the fact-checking program has not been well-received by some individuals within the company. However, testing for Community Notes began in January for Threads, where the initiative solicited user contributions. Kaplan recently reassured the public that Community Notes would start to appear on Facebook, Threads, and Instagram gradually, stating there would be no penalties associated with this new feature.

It is important to highlight that while Meta is discontinuing its fact-checking program in the U.S., it continues to utilize third-party fact-checkers in other regions. The company plans to expand Community Notes to these international markets as well, further indicating a shift in how it manages content moderation globally.