The co-chair of the independent body that reviews Facebook and Instagram content has said she is “very concerned” about how parent company Meta’s decision to ditch fact-checkers will affect minority groups.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, from Meta’s oversight board, told the BBC she welcomed aspects of the shake-up, which will see users decide about the accuracy of posts via X-style “community notes”.
However, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said there were “huge problems” with what had been announced, including the potential impact on the LGBTQ+ community, as well as gender and trans rights.
“We are seeing many instances where hate speech can lead to real-life harm, so we will be watching that space very carefully,” she added.
In a video posted, external alongside a blog post by the company on Tuesday, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the decision was motivated by “getting back to our roots around free expression”.
He said third-party fact-checkers currently used by the firm were “too politically biased”, meaning too many users were being “censored”.
The decision has prompted questions about the survival of the board – which Meta funds and was created by then president of global affairs, Sir Nick Clegg, who announced he was leaving the company less than a week ago.
Ms Thorning-Schmidt – a former prime minister of Denmark – insisted the changes to fact checking meant it was needed more than ever.
“That’s why it is good we have an oversight board that can discuss this in a transparent way with Meta”, she said.
She did welcome some of Meta’s announcement on moderation, including its aim to find a new way to fact-check after there had been instances of “over-enforcement”, with people ending up in “Facebook jail”.
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