Deserted by fact-checking

Meta policy reversal could mean more misinformation for communities lacking local news

Posted

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that Facebook is eliminating fact-checking may amount to a double whammy for people living in this country’s ever-expanding news deserts.

Having lost their primary local news sources, these communities often turn to social media and other alternatives to try to stay informed. Now one of those key sources is removing safeguards against the spread of misinformation.

“It’s absolutely correct that it’s in areas that are underserved by professional journalism that this move will have the harshest impact,” said Lucas Graves, author of the 2016 book “Deciding What’s True: The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American Journalism” (Columbia University Press). “We know there are places where people are forced to rely on platforms like Facebook for news, and the only other outlets available are ‘pink slime’ or really partisan, almost fake newspapers or local commercial papers that are mainly vehicles for advertising and don’t do much serious coverage. So, yeah, I think it’s absolutely something to be concerned about.”

Read more from the Local News Initiative