Brazil’s newly appointed communications minister Sidonio Palmeira said on Wednesday that social media giant Meta’s decision to end fact-checking in the United States is “bad for democracy”.
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg surprised many with his announcement Tuesday that he was banning fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram in the United States, citing concerns about political bias.
Palmeira said Meta’s decision was “bad for democracy because (without checking facts) you can’t control the spread of hatred, misinformation and fake news.”
“That’s the problem. We need control, we need to regulate social media, that’s what’s happening in Europe.”
Zuckerberg also criticized censorship in Europe and Latin America, leading many countries to wonder whether they would be next.
Brazil’s public prosecutor’s office sent a letter to local Meta representatives giving the company 30 days to clarify with detailed information whether it intends to implement the changes in the country.
Instead of professional fact-checking, Zuckerberg would put the responsibility for exposing lies on ordinary users under a model called “community notes” popularized by Ax.
Experts have warned that ending the fact-checking program opens the door to harmful misinformation.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has taken a tough stance on regulating social media platforms.
Last year, it blocked Elon Musk’s X platform for 40 days for failing to comply with a series of court orders against online disinformation.
On Wednesday, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva raised the issue of disinformation during a ceremony in Brasilia to mark two years since supporters of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro stormed the seats of power.
Lula said, “We defend freedom of expression and will always do so. But we will not tolerate hate speech and propaganda that endanger people’s lives and incite violence against the rule of law.”
AFP currently works with Facebook’s fact-checking program in 26 languages, including in the United States and the European Union.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
