Brands and marketers have a new reality to adapt to. Changes to one of their most widely-used platforms have made it harder to protect their brand reputation. The end of Meta fact-checking in favour of “free expression” means difficult choices to make, with both upsides and downsides.
While the changes seem designed to reflect the current political landscape and culture, they still reflect a risky approach for Meta. Attitudes toward social media are changing, and many see it as far from being a positive force. Members of Gen Z who grew up on social media are abandoning Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Facebook is still the top social media platform for growing your brand, but it’s also faced a number of criticisms and controversies in recent years, including being at the centre of a U.S. Senate hearing.
Here’s what the end of Meta fact-checking means for brands like yours and how you can adapt to the changes.
Meta Third-Party Fact-Checking Ending: What Does It Mean?
On January 7 2025, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta, the parent company of several platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, would be ending its fact-checking program.
Its replacement is a user-driven “community notes” system similar to Elon Musk’s approach on X (formerly Twitter). Meta also relaxed its moderation policies on topics like gender identity and race and moved to re-introduce political content to its platforms.
On top of all this, Meta made several internal policy changes apparently designed to bring company culture in line with the Trump presidency: disbanding its DEI team and programs, appointing Trump supporter Dana White to the Board of Directors and removing sanitary products from men’s bathrooms, where they were placed for the benefit of trans and non-binary employees. Meta also announced its plans to cut 5% of its staff, or around 3,600 employees deemed “low performers” by Zuckerberg.
Critics of the move, including some on Meta’s own oversight board, have said this will increase the amount of misinformation and hateful content on its platforms. Helle Thorning-Schmidt from the Meta board mentioned that in many instances, online hate speech can lead to real-life harm.
Brands and marketers also need to be conscious of the reality of adapting to a less moderated environment. Brand credibility relies on trust. With misinformation potentially muddying the waters, brands might have to work a little harder to win and keep the trust of the public.
Meta is such a common part of most marketers’ social media strategies (as well as most people’s daily lives) that a post-Elon Twitter/X style mass exodus is unlikely. While there have been calls for boycotts and an uptick in users deleting their accounts, many users feel they can’t leave the platform because it’s so enmeshed in their day-to-day lives.
But despite its challenges, this change to Meta’s approach presents marketers with a new chance to stand out. As usual, honesty and authenticity will win.
The Positive Impact of Meta Ending Fact-Checking
There are both pros and cons to Zuckerberg and Co ditching Meta fact-checking for a “Community Notes” model. Some of the potential benefits that brands can harness include:
Diversity of perspectives
Community Notes draws from the perspectives of users around the world, reflecting a broad range of cultural and political viewpoints. For brands, this can help with gaining insights into your target demographics.
Real-time corrections
The speed at which users can contribute to Community Notes can offer you fresh insights into your audience at a faster rate.
A chance to stand out
As it becomes harder to separate fact from fiction online, brands that double down on their credibility and authenticity have a better chance of standing out in the marketplace. Through techniques like useful content and maintaining your unique identity, you can still be a brand that people trust.
Incentive to make changes
If nothing else, Meta’s changes can serve as a reminder that it’s important to stay adaptable and not rely solely on a single platform. They can motivate you to enhance your brand safety strategy and monitor your online presence more carefully, both of which will benefit your brand in the long run.
The Negative Impact of Meta Ending Fact-Checking
Critics of the decision to end Meta fact-checking have highlighted its potential negative impacts on society and social media users. But it has drawbacks for brands, too, including:
Greater risks to brand reputation
With Meta relaxing their moderation, it’s more important for brands to strengthen their own safety strategies and make sure their ads don’t appear alongside harmful material. The type of content your ads appear in impacts your brand reputation, and appearing in harmful or negative content can cast you in a similarly negative light.
While it’s early days, users concerned about the spread of misinformation and hate speech may turn on brands that still use Meta for marketing.
Potential for viral controversies
In a less moderated online environment, you may find your brand attracts increased attention for all the wrong reasons. If a brand amplifies false online narratives or becomes associated with misinformation and incorrect claims, it can tarnish its reputation even if the brand itself had no direct involvement.
Legal risks
There may be legal ramifications if your brand is accused of spreading or amplifying misinformation.
Limits to reach of posts
Unchecked misinformation and disinformation can drown out other forms of content, including legitimate posts and advertising from brands. This can make it more difficult to reach your desired demographic as well as tarnish your brand reputation with negative associations.
What Does This Mean For Brands and Advertising?
The end of Meta fact-checking isn’t the first challenge that marketers have faced, and it won’t be the last. If brands act now, they can build a stronger strategy before the bulk of Meta’s changes come into effect. Some important measures include:
Take immediate action
Brands should audit their current safety measures, review their crisis management protocols and develop new content moderation strategies. The sooner, the better.
Work on risk management
A strong brand strategy is essential, along with actions like contextual targeting and careful monitoring.
Modify content strategy
You may need to make changes to your online content strategy to account for a less regulated environment. While creating informative, people-first content is still the best approach. You may also need to add internal fact-checking processes to your strategy, as well as clear guidelines for dealing with misinformation.
Diversify platforms
Relying solely on a single platform is a dangerous approach. To protect your brand reputation, it pays to appear on a range of platforms such as Google, YouTube and LinkedIn. While more recent platforms like BlueSky don’t yet offer the ability to advertise, they do provide non-Meta alternatives so you can reach new audiences.
Navigate ethical issues
Brands should consider their stance on certain issues and whether or not to make a public statement, as well as when it may be appropriate to withdraw from certain platforms. In case of backlash, it pays to have an exit strategy in mind.
Build Your Customer Loyalty on Social Media with Anchor
The right creative marketing agency can help you build a strong social media strategy no matter what kind of challenges the industry throws your way. Anchor Digital is a hybrid digital agency with forward-thinking strategies that can keep your brand strong into the future. Whether you need a brand safety strategy, a better social media presence or an increased presence across a wider range of platforms, we can help you.
As a Facebook marketing company, we can help you stand out among misinformation, disinformation and endless chatter. Our ultra-targeted Facebook advertising campaigns make the most of the site’s potential for precise audience segmentation. We’ll conduct in-depth research into your customers (and potential customers), your competitors and your industry to craft the strongest Facebook PPC campaign possible.
To find out more, contact the Anchor team. We’ll help you build a flexible, adaptable and effective Facebook marketing strategy.
