Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that he is ending professional fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram marks the culmination of months of effort to position the social media giant for the conservative pressures of a potential second Trump administration. This shift is a significant departure from Zuckerberg’s previous views, as he once a supporter of progressive causes and repeatedly met with and sometimes criticized Barack Obama during his presidency.
Zuckerberg’s rightward shift began to emerge last summer, when he praised Trump’s response to having nearly been assassinated and dropped special restrictions on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. He also publicly attacked the Biden administration’s response to Covid-19 misinformation, alleging that the government had pressured the company to “censor” content. Meta’s corporate political action committee did not give to either major candidate in the presidential campaign, but individual employees gave generously to Vice President Kamala Harris.
In the past few months, Meta has made other rightward steps, including allowing a personal threat from Trump to pass by with no response. Zuckerberg posted well-wishes to Trump after the election and donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. He also elevated a longtime Republican insider, Joel Kaplan, to be Meta’s head of global policy, replacing Nick Clegg, a former British deputy prime minister with a less conservative record.
The speed and scope of Zuckerberg’s shift have been described as breathtaking by some observers, with one disinformation expert calling it “a full bending of the knee to Trump and an attempt to catch up to Musk in his race to the bottom.” Meta’s new board members include Dana White, the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and a longtime friend of Trump’s.