Meta to end fact-checking programme before Trump’s inauguration
Ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, social media platform Meta has said it is going to stop using fact-checkers.
Jesse Eisenberg, best known for portraying Mark Zuckerberg in ‘The Social Network’, has made it clear that he wants no association with the Facebook and Meta chief.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ program, the actor admitted that he hasn’t been keeping up with Zuckerberg’s life or business decisions, particularly given the controversies surrounding Meta’s handling of misinformation and safety policies.
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“It’s not like I played a great golfer, and now people assume I’m a great golfer,” Eisenberg said, as reported by ‘Variety’. “I played someone who is making decisions that are problematic—removing fact-checking, reducing safety measures, and making vulnerable people even more threatened.”
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His comments come in response to Meta’s recent decision to replace its fact-checking system with a “community notes” model similar to the one used by Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).
Zuckerberg defended the change, claiming Meta’s fact-checking efforts had resulted in “too many mistakes, too much censorship, and too much political bias.”
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Jesse Eisenberg also expressed concern over Zuckerberg’s political connections. According to ‘Variety’, after Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Zuckerberg met with him at Mar-a-Lago, and Meta contributed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. The tech billionaire also attended Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
“As someone who reads the news, I find it worrying,” Eisenberg remarked. “These are people with unimaginable amounts of wealth—more than anyone in history. And what are they doing with it? They’re using it to gain influence with someone who spreads harmful rhetoric.”
Despite his past role as Zuckerberg, Eisenberg emphasized that his concerns stem from his perspective as a citizen, not as an actor tied to the character.
On the professional front, Eisenberg is currently in the spotlight for ‘A Real Pain’, a film he wrote and directed. The movie, about two cousins traveling to Poland in honor of their late grandmother, has earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
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