Meta’s factchecking partners brace for layoffs

New York: So, it looks like Meta is shaking things up again. They’ve decided to stop fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram in the US, and that’s got a lot of folks worried. The fact-checking teams that have been working with Meta are bracing for some tough times ahead, especially since Meta has been a big source of funding for them.

Since 2016, Meta has poured over $100 million into these fact-checking organizations. This money helped them rate the accuracy of posts and limit the reach of false information. Big names like USA Today and Reuters have been in on this, along with specialized sites like FactCheck.org. But now, with the funding cuts, it’s looking like layoffs are on the horizon.

Some of these organizations are already feeling the pinch. Lead Stories, one of the partners, confirmed they’ll have to cut staff because of the loss of revenue from Meta. They’ve got about 80 employees worldwide, and this hit is going to hurt. Jesse Stiller from Check Your Fact expressed shock and uncertainty about what’s next for them.

PolitiFact, another major player in the fact-checking game, is also expecting financial impacts. They’ve relied on Meta for a significant chunk of their funding. Agence France-Presse, a big news organization, said they found out about the cuts at the same time as everyone else, and it’s a tough blow for the whole fact-checking community.

This news is a stark contrast to what Meta was saying just last year, boasting about their extensive fact-checking network. They even highlighted their financial support for various initiatives, including combating misinformation during the pandemic. Now, it seems like they’re backtracking.

The organizations involved are pushing back against Mark Zuckerberg’s claims that their work was biased. They argue that they come from diverse backgrounds and would have been dropped if they were injecting political views into their fact-checking.

This shift is a big deal for journalism, and it’s unclear if other media companies will step in to fill the funding gaps left by Meta. Lead Stories reassured that they won’t shut down completely, as most of their work isn’t tied to Meta. PolitiFact also plans to keep doing what they do best—fact-checking and providing reliable information, both on and off Facebook.