When Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced this week that the social media giant would scrap third-party fact-checking and ease moderation of sensitive topics, he cast the decision as reflecting the zeitgeist.
The re-election of United States President-elect Donald Trump signalled a “cultural tipping point” towards free speech over moderation, Zuckerberg said.
In many ways, he was right.
Less than a decade after the rise of Donald Trump and Brexit spurred US tech platforms to crack down on misinformation online, momentum has shifted dramatically in favour of voices arguing for a less regulated, more freewheeling internet.
“This move by Meta is definitely part of a larger trend, with fact-checking undergoing some headwinds globally,” John P Wihbey, associate professor of media innovation and technology at Northeastern University in Canada, told Al Jazeera.
“My sense is that the changes are equally driven by political shifts and business necessity, as news organisations also need to move scarce resources to serve …