Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end factchecking on Facebook and Instagram in the US already has factchecking journalists bracing for cuts at their organizations, given the size of Meta’s funding.
The social media giant has provided more than $100m for outside organizations certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to conduct factchecks on its social networks since 2016, which would result in posts receiving accuracy ratings and having their reach reduced if false. Major outlets like USA Today and Reuters have partnered with the social media company for these factchecks, as have factcheck specific sites like FactCheck.org. In all, 10 outlets are listed by Meta as current partners in the US.
Several of the partner organizations have confirmed they’re taking a financial hit that will likely lead to fewer employees. Lead Stories, one of Meta’s factcheck partners, confirmed its staff would take a hit as a result of the decision. “Lead Stories will see a drop in revenue with the loss of the Meta contract, which will result in a staffing reduction,” cofounder Alan Duke said in an email. Lead Stories employs about 80 people globally and performs factchecks for ByteDance, parent company of TikTok, as well as Meta.
Jesse Stiller, managing editor of Check Your Fact, an affiliate of the conservative Daily Caller outlet co-founded by Tucker Carlson, said: “We are shocked at the decision and we are uncertain about the future.” A spokesperson told CNN that Check Your Fact’s work would be “impacted greatly and our operations will be grounded to a halt”.
Meta is listed as a funder who has provided more than 5% of PolitiFact’s total revenues in the previous calendar year. The factchecking organization said it is “unavoidable that there will be some financial impact to PolitiFact and other factchecking journalists”.
Agence France-Presse (AFP), a Meta factcheck partner and a major news organization, said it learned the news yesterday alongside the public. “It’s a hard hit for the factchecking community and journalism. We’re assessing the situation,” a spokesperson for AFP said.
The abrupt news comes in stark contrast to a Meta blogpost from 2022 in which the company boasted: “We have built the largest global fact-checking network of any platform and have contributed more than $100 million to programs supporting our fact-checking efforts since 2016.” These efforts included $1m emergency grants for factchecking health misinformation during the early days of the covid-19 pandemic, a $1m grant to fight lies about the climate crisis and a grant for Black factcheckers.
The partner organizations have pushed back on the assertion from Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, that the factchecks they produced were biased. The Meta partner organizations come from different ideological backgrounds, and they say they would have been dropped from the program if they were inserting political beliefs into their work.
The pull-back deals a significant blow to this style of journalism. It is unclear if the media companies will be able or willing to fill in the funding gaps that losing Meta partnerships will leave, especially at a time when factchecking and the press are under attack.
Lead Stories said it would not cease operations altogether, however. “We will continue to operate. The majority of our business was non-Meta,” said Duke.
Aaron Sharockman, executive director of PolitiFact, likewise said that his organization would continue its fight for the truth: “PolitiFact will continue to do what it has always done – factcheck stories, posts or claims to provide people additional, high-quality information. On Facebook, and off.”
