Brasilia:
A choice by social media big Meta to finish fact-checking in the USA is “dangerous for democracy,” Brazil’s newly appointed communication minister Sidonio Palmeira stated Wednesday.
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg surprised many together with his announcement Tuesday that he was pulling the plug on fact-checking at Fb and Instagram in the USA, citing considerations about political bias.
Palmeira stated Meta’s resolution was “dangerous for democracy as a result of (with out fact-checking) you do not management the unfold of hate, misinformation and faux information.”
“That is the issue. We have to have management, we have to regulate social media, that is what’s occurring in Europe.”
Zuckerberg additionally slammed what he referred to as censorship in Europe and Latin America, leaving many international locations questioning if they are going to be subsequent.
Brazil’s public prosecutor’s workplace despatched a letter to native Meta representatives giving the corporate 30 days to make clear whether or not it intends to implement the adjustments within the nation, with detailed info.
As an alternative {of professional} fact-checking, Zuckerberg will shift the accountability of debunking falsehoods to bizarre customers beneath a mannequin referred to as “Group Notes,” popularized by X.
Specialists have warned that ending the fact-checking program opens the floodgates for dangerous misinformation.
Brazil’s Supreme Court docket has taken a robust stance on regulating social media platforms.
Final 12 months, it blocked Elon Musk’s X platform for 40 days for failing to adjust to a collection of courtroom orders in opposition to on-line disinformation.
On Wednesday, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva raised the scourge of disinformation throughout a ceremony marking two years since supporters of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro stormed the seats of energy in Brasilia.
“We defend, and can all the time defend freedom of expression. However we is not going to tolerate hate speech and disinformation, which endanger individuals’s lives and incite violence in opposition to the rule of legislation,” Lula stated.
AFP at the moment works in 26 languages with Fb’s fact-checking program, together with in the USA and the European Union.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)