Quigley Statement on Meta Ending Fact Checking

U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) released the following statement in response to Meta’s announcement that they will stop using third-party fact-checkers on Facebook, Threads and Instagram:

“Today’s announcement is a clear effort by Mark Zuckerberg and Meta to appease Trump before he has even taken office. Trump and Republicans have routinely complained about fact-checking on social media because the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories have usually worked to their advantage. We should ask ourselves if Mr. Zuckerberg would have made this decision if Donald Trump had lost the election. 

“I know from my time on the Intelligence Committee that the overwhelming bipartisan consensus of the intelligence community is that unchecked misinformation on social media erodes public trust in our democratic processes. While we must protect the First Amendment, we must also ensure there are reasonable guardrails. Misinformation and disinformation already run rampant on social media, endangering Americans’ health and safety and the very viability of our democracy. The abandonment of third-party fact-checking will only make this problem worse.”