Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that Facebook will be terminating all remaining fact-checking programs and implementing an X-style “Community Notes” feature, where users post notes for discussion without fact checks. Zuckerberg cited the results of the November 2024 U.S. election as a “tipping point,” proving to him that Americans are more interested in unrestricted free speech than they are in verified facts. Some experts warn that implementing the feature is likely to make misinformation and disinformation on Facebook even worse than it already is.

Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor David Pakman argues that Facebook’s decision is just the latest development in a worrying trend of social media skewing more and more towards the political Right. Pakman argues that it’s time for liberal and independent content creators to start building their own information channels instead of just relying on corporate social media.

The following is an excerpt from the above video:

And then, most recently, Facebook has announced they will be ending their fact-checking program. And think about the 180 that has taken place [since] the start of the COVID pandemic. Because so much medical disinformation and misinformation was spreading on Facebook, Facebook instituted fact-checking. Hey, maybe don’t start guzzling hydroxychloroquine.

They were criticized. The MAGA Right was upset with Facebook. Slowly but surely, Mark Zuckerberg has become more and more friendly to MAGA and to Trump, and now they are eliminating the fact-checking program altogether, which of course, will benefit Trump, who is the president formerly, who lied more than any other president, and I expect will continue to do so as president.

So what is it that the Left should or can do? Well, a lot of the things I’ve been trying to do for a long time, one aspect of this is diversify your platforms. Why am I on YouTube and Facebook and TikTok and Snapchat and podcasting and all of this stuff? Because we know that with the flip of a switch, any one of these platforms can crush us. Now, just spreading around doesn’t change the fact that independent news on Facebook or Instagram or TikTok can be decimated at the push of a button.