You probably won’t find X CEO Linda Yaccarino praising Meta and Mark Zuckerberg on the CES 2025 bingo card, but here we are nonetheless. In his keynote speech in Las Vegas, Yaccarino called Meta’s decision to end its long-standing fact-checking program and introduce Community Notes “exciting” and “relevant.”
Yaccarino and X owner Elon Musk both support the crowdsourced fact-checking functionality that Meta plans to emulate in its service. “I think it’s really inspiring to think that community notes are a good thing for the world…and nothing makes more sense than to see Mark and Meta recognize that,” Yaccarino said. . “Mark, Meta, welcome to the party.”
But Mr. Mehta and Mr. Zuckerberg may make dubious bedfellows at the “party.” Although X frequently touts the number of users contributing to community notes, some researchers have pointed out flaws in this feature. A report last year by misinformation researchers at the Center for Combating Digital Hate (CCDH) found that many misleading posts, including some of Mr. Musk’s own high-profile posts, can garner billions of views without being corrected. He pointed out that there is.
It’s not at all surprising that Yaccarino applauds Zuckerberg’s move to sever ties with news organizations, his longtime partners in fact-checking content on Facebook and Instagram. Like her boss Musk, she has made no secret of her disdain for “legacy media,” spending a significant portion of her time on stage slamming “legacy news that is designed to make you think a certain way.” .
Mr. Zuckerberg’s move to loosen content moderation standards is the latest sign of how far the Facebook founder intends to realign with the political right as Donald Trump prepares to take office. He also added UFC CEO Dana White, a prominent Trump supporter, to Meta’s board of directors and elevated the company’s most prominent Republican official to a role in charge of global affairs.
