Meta's announcement that it is ending its fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram, hopefully marks the beginning of the end of the fake fact-checkers who have abused their power for too long.

I've been vocal about the misuse of fact-checking by RMIT University for years, especially after they wrongly branded my report on Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance CEO Dean Lee as "false information." My report highlighted how Lee had fabricated "threats against staff" as an excuse for his decision to light up the war memorial in 'pride' colours.

And now in a stunning turn of events, Meta has announced the end of its controversial fact-checking program on both Facebook and Instagram.

X is failing so badly that Meta is copying it by firing fact-checkers and replacing them with community notes

2025 is wild and we’re barely a week in https://t.co/DzLfa7jhpX

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) January 7, 2025

In a video shared this Tuesday, Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said, "It’s time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram." He acknowledged the pitfalls of their previous system, stating, "Even if they accidentally censor just 1 per cent of posts, that is millions of people. And we’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship."

Zuckerberg also touched on the political nature of fact-checking, noting, "Governments and legacy media have pushed to censor more and more. A lot of this is clearly political."

This criticism aligns with my own experiences when I took RMIT to court over their biased fact-check. The court documents from my lawsuit exposed the secretive agreement between Meta and RMIT, revealing how RMIT was paid $800 per fact-check, incredibly earning up to half a million dollars annually for their biased work.

Excerpts from the Commercial Agreement between RMIT FactLab and META (Facebook) - Obtained via documents in a case information request. pic.twitter.com/BXjCrLVqYP

— Rukshan Fernando (@therealrukshan) July 17, 2023

The end of this program means RMIT's influence over narratives on Meta's platforms is finally curtailed. Facebook have stated the company will introduce a new system utilising 'community notes,' similar to what's been successfully done on Elon Musk’s X platform, to reduce bias.

This decision by Meta comes after significant backlash, particularly following the US 2020 election, and it mirrors the growing demand for free speech over controlled narratives. RMIT University, in an attempt to salvage its tarnished reputation, has rebranded its fact-checking unit to RMIT Lookout. However, this rebranding does little to erase the memory of their misleading claim of accreditation from the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which they've since had to retract.

🚨 Disgraced fact-checkers rebrand ahead of election

RMIT University quietly rebrands its controversial Factlab department after the operation was caught issuing error-ridden verdicts targeting rightwing opponents

We see you 'RMIT Lookout'

Full story: https://t.co/AL1caTk72B pic.twitter.com/KEPQ50wdeR

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) December 18, 2024

The ABC also severed its long-standing partnership with RMIT's Fact Check operation earlier this year, a move that further underscores the public's and institutions' distrust in RMIT's ability to provide unbiased fact-checking.

Today's announcement by Meta feels like a vindication for those of us who have been fighting against the narrative manipulation by so-called fact-checkers.

It's a step towards restoring integrity to online discourse, where the truth isn't dictated by a small number of academics and journalists with an agenda but by the collective voice of the community.

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