SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Meta recently announced it would be removing its fact-checking feature from social media sites like Facebook ahead of the new Trump Administration.
South Dakota media professors say while the change isn’t surprising, people should start being more mindful of the content they consume on social media.
“I don’t think people should be necessarily worried, but I would recommend that they don’t rely on these social media companies as their main source or sole source of information because they are a business that is attempting to monetize people’s attention,” Black Hills State University media professor Justin Bergh said.
The Biden Administration started regulating tech companies for the information shared on their sites that could potentially be harmful. Meta hired third party fact-checkers on their website after accusations of spreading misinformation around the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 election.
In a video posted Tuesday, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the company would be getting back to their roots of free expression by removing the “politically biased” fact-checkers and instituting a community notes feature similar to X.
“I think part of Mark Zuckerberg announcing this was to sort of signal that he wants to work with the new administration and their differing approach to how to regulate these companies,” Bergh explained.
Augustana University media professor Katie McCollough says people need to be thinking about whether big tech companies like Meta should have the power to instigate these regulations.
“Why is Meta responsible for making those kinds of decisions when maybe that would be something that would be better for our legal system to handle,” McCollough questioned.
She mentioned the ongoing debate of whether tech platforms like Meta should interfere with the potential spread of misinformation or operate under free speech, regardless of what type of content is being pushed. She pointed to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act which protects platforms from being held liable for content users post.
“Social media has become a public space, but it’s governed by these for-profit, private companies, so that’s the tension,” she said.
Both McCollough and Bergh said the best way to not fall victim to misinformation is by getting a second opinion or looking at news sources.
“Get offline, you know, read the newspaper, watch TV, listen to public radio,” Bergh suggested. “Just having a better variety in your media diet so to speak, I think will help people make sense of what they see on social media.”
