Meta’s Fact-Checking Decision Prompts Australian PM to Highlight Social Media Risks

Meta logo in a photo illustration taken on Aug. 22, 2022. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has weighed in on the importance of social media companies taking responsibility for content after Meta announced it would be scrapping its fact checking service.

Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, promised to scrap Fact Checkers ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s accession on Jan. 20. Instead, the company would adopt a “Community Notes” model similar to the Elon Musk-owned X.

Prime Minister Albanese pledged to stand firm on his government’s social media ban for under 16 year olds, regardless of any pressure from the Trump administration.

Albanese was asked on his views about Meta’s shuttered fact checking, and if this could lead to misinformation impacting the impending federal election.

“Social media has a social responsibility,” Albanese told reporters.

“I’ve met too many parents who’ve lost their young ones as a result of the impact that social media has had. We know that the rise in mental health issues for young people is linked with social media,” Albanese said.

“All of the experts tell us that that’s the case. So, we'll continue to act in our national interest. And I say to social media they have a social responsibility and they should fulfil it.”

The prime minister also gave eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant a glowing endorsement, and noted his government had given her more powers.

“We think that Julie Inman Grant does a terrific job. She has to put up with a lot of criticism, all of it unfounded, and we'll back her. She was an appointment of the previous government and she was a very good appointment,” he said.

PM to Stand by Social Media Ban

In an earlier interview with ABC News Breakfast, Albanese was asked if he would stick to his social media ban, even if Trump administration raises it.

“The social media ban is an Australian policy in the interests of young Australians, Australian families. And we say to Australian parents, we’ve got your back. We’ve listened, we’ve engaged with you on this. This is a sensible reform that has passed the Parliament and is now Australian law,” Albanese said.

The social media ban for children under 16 passed the federal parliament on the final sitting day of the week in 2024.

Albanese said the ban was a sensible policy responding to a new issue and technology.

“And that is why the government has acted.”

“We'll consult, obviously—as part of the legislation was a consultation process of one year to make sure that all the measures are put in place in an appropriate way.”

What is Meta Doing?

On Jan 7, Meta advised it would end its third party fact checking program starting in the United States, and instead, adopt a Community Notes model similar to X.

“We will allow more speech by lifting restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discourse and focusing our enforcement on illegal and high-severity violations,” Meta said.

“We will take a more personalised approach to political content, so that people who want to see more of it in their feeds can.”

Established in 2016, the program saw Meta allocate funding to certain partners including Reuters Fact Check, the Australian Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, PolitiFact, and Snopes, to assess the accuracy of content on the platform.

Warning labels were attached to any contentious posts and branded “false information.”

The X model differs in that it includes additional context in a box underneath a post.

Greens Senator Sarah-Hanson Young was scathing of Meta’s new move, during an interview with ABC.

“It’s going to mean a free-for-all on misinformation, disinformation, abuse and trolling,” she claimed.

“This is a very, very dangerous move at a time when members of the community, parents, young people–women in particular are increasingly concerned about the unsafe environment on these big platforms.”

One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts said Zuckerberg had dropped a bombshell about government-enforced censorship on Facebook and Instagram.

“Speeches are one thing, action is another. Let’s see if he really does what he’s saying,” Roberts said in a video on X.

Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) hailed the announcement a win for free speech, prompting a response from X owner Elon Musk.

“Meta finally admits to censoring speech ... what a great birthday present to wake up to and a huge win for free speech,” Paul said.

X founder Elon Musk added, “This is awesome.”