AFP Chairman and CEO Fabrice Fries has raised alarm over Meta’s decision to suspend fact-checking in the United States, describing it as a concerning step back in the fight against disinformation. Writing in Le Monde, Fries compared the move to “pulling down a fire station during a major fire,” arguing that fact-checking is a vital tool for maintaining trust and accuracy in news.
‘AFP’ is a founding Member of the News Media Coalition (NMC).
As the world’s largest fact-checking organisation, AFP operates in 30 countries and 26 languages, publishing an average of 400 fact-checks per month. Fries emphasised that these efforts have been instrumental in addressing disinformation on critical topics such as Covid-19, Ukraine, and Gaza. Despite Meta’s prior acknowledgment of fact-checking’s impact—reducing user interaction with flagged content by 95%—the company has shifted its focus to “community notes,” a user-generated system that Fries warns may be prone to bias and manipulation.
The News Media Coalition (NMC) shares AFP’s concern, particularly as fact-checking aligns with its advocacy for fact-based journalism and the critical role of primary sources in countering disinformation. Fries’ op-ed underscores the need for consistent investment in fact-checking as a cornerstone of the broader fight against the spread of false information in an era where no major news story is immune from conspiracy theories or manipulation.
