Mark Zuckerberg has scrapped fact-checking programs from Meta Platforms, affecting Facebook, Instagram and Threads. “We’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship. It’s time to get back to our roots around free expression,” Zuckerberg said in a video.
Last week, Meta appointed Republican political operative and former White House deputy chief of staff Joel Kaplan as Chief Global Affairs Officer, and on Jan. 6 announced that Dana White, a close friend of Trump’s, was elected to its board.
Zuckerberg’s break with the “fact-checking” system he had earlier embraced can be interpreted either as an “adaptation” to the new power in Washington, or as liberation from past impositions from above… or both. It certainly has major implications worldwide.
In Germany, it hits the infamous Correctiv operation and the DPA, both of which insist that they have a contract with Meta and therefore nothing will change… until the end of 2025, when the contract expires.
Correctiv has played a key role in German politics with operations against anti-establishment figures and organization. Earlier this year, it revealed an alleged secret meeting with AfD leaders, plotting the “deportation” of all foreign migrants in Germany. Eventually, it came out that 1) the report was grossly exaggerated and 2) Correctiv had infiltrated the meeting, thanks to previous information supplied by the government domestic intelligence bureau (Verfassungsschutz).
The Correctiv report was used by the government coalition to organize mass demonstrations against the “Nazi danger” and divert public opinion from the ongoing massive farmer protest, which had gathered an unprecedented 100,000 tractors marching on Berlin.
Eventually, Correctiv let the mask fall, when its managing director Jeannette Gusko announced she was leaving Correctiv to become campaign manager for Green leader Robert Habeck.
Surprise: Correctiv’s friend, Verfassungsschutz head Georg Haldewang, also announced his resignation in order to become a candidate for the CDU in the coming general elections.
