Meta’s fact-check exit and its impact

Meta’s move to discontinue its fact-checking programme and replace it with Community Notes, a system already implemented by X (formerly Twitter) under Elon Musk’s leadership, has sparked widespread reactions. What is particularly striking is the timing of this announcement, with Donald Trump all set to be sworn in as the US President for his second term. Meta’s justification of bias in the functioning of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) and its motive to champion free speech loses ground as one considers the underlying intent to prevent the censorship of right-wing content that had been affected by the fact-checking programme in place earlier.