Social media giant Meta has announced a significant shift in its content moderation strategy, including the termination of its third-party fact-checking programme in the United States.

“We’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes similar to X (formerly Twitter), starting in the US,” Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated in a social media post.

Zuckerberg argued that “fact-checkers have been too politically biased and have eroded trust rather than building it, particularly in the US.”

Meta’s decision mirrors criticisms from Republicans and X-owner Elon Musk, who have accused fact-checking initiatives of censorship. Zuckerberg also hinted that recent elections marked a cultural shift towards prioritising free speech.

As part of this shift, Meta has simplified its content policies, removing restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that Zuckerberg claimed were “disconnected from mainstream discourse.”

Efforts to reconcile with US President-elect Donald Trump appear to be part of Meta’s strategy. These include a $1 million donation to Trump’s inauguration fund and the appointment of Republican stalwart Joel Kaplan as head of public affairs. Additionally, UFC President Dana White, a Trump ally, has joined Meta’s board.

In a significant operational change, Meta’s trust and safety teams will relocate from California to Texas to reduce concerns about perceived political bias. The company has also reversed its 2021 policy of limiting political content and will now allow users greater control over the amount of political content they see.