NICCOLO CARRADORI_META_NEWS_THE BUNKER MAGAZINE_00

The End of Fact-Checking: Meta Embraces Musk’s Model Balancing Free Speech and the Risk of Misinformation

Last Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, announced the end of the fact-checking programme on Facebook and Instagram. In its place, he stated, a system of “Community Notes” will be introduced, already trialled on X (formerly Twitter) under Elon Musk’s leadership. This decision, currently limited to the United States, has immediately drawn praise from Donald Trump and his entourage, marking what many observers view as a significant ideological realignment between Meta and the newly elected American president.

FRANCESCO D'ISA_MEDIA PANIC_THE BUNKER MAGAZINE_00

Media Panic and the Sisyphus Syndrome

Not long ago, a case brought to public attention the potential negative impact of chatbots. Two parents sued an AI company after interaction with one of their chatbots allegedly led their children to imagine and discuss plans to kill them. The incident is undoubtedly unsettling, but it’s also reasonable to assume that such behavior might reflect pre-existing family and social dynamics — a doubt that seemingly did not cross the parents’ minds.