Meta’s US fact-checking shutdown sparks fears of disinformation crisis in Asia

Analysts warn the decision could weaken efforts to combat hate speech and misinformation in regions vulnerable to online manipulation

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Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, testifies during a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on January 31, 2024. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:30pm, 13 Jan 2025Updated: 5:12pm, 13 Jan 2025

Meta’s abrupt decision to halt its US fact-checking programme signals a global retreat from combating disinformation, analysts warn, potentially leaving regions like Asia exposed to unchecked online manipulation and political influence campaigns.

There is no reason to believe that “halting the third party fact-checking programme will only happen in the United States,” Michelle Riedlinger, an associate professor at the Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) School of Communication, told This Week in Asia.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday that the tech giant – which operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp – was ending the programme in the US in favour of a crowdsourced “community notes” system similar to that used by social media platform X.

Zuckerberg said the results of the recent US presidential election had influenced the company’s decision, adding that it felt like a “cultural tipping point” towards prioritising free speech once again.

The Meta CEO also criticised governments and legacy media that he claimed “pushed to censor more and more”.

Meta’s move signals “both a strategic and ideological shift within Meta’s executive [leadership] that I would expect to ripple far beyond the US,” said Ned Watt, a doctoral student at QUT who has researched fact-checking organisations.

He added that the company’s action weakens the “perceived commitment of platforms to tackle misinformation, potentially discouraging similar initiatives elsewhere”.