Fact-checking – Meta: if Mark Zuckerberg extends his decision to Africa, it would contribute to an information disorder where access to information is limited in some countries

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It would be worrying if Meta were to stop collaborating with external fact-checkers in countries where access to information is limited.

01/11/2025

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It would be worrying if Meta were to stop collaborating with external fact-checkers in countries where access to information is limited.

In March 2020, a Congolese mother was arrested by the authorities after her three children died consecutively, victims of an unscientific treatment designed to boost their immune systems. She had opted for a potion composed of three traditional medicinal plants. Although she had acted in a spirit of protection, this initiative unfortunately led to tragic results. However, the choice to inform herself about the best way to anticipate the problem created the worst. According to her testimony, she saw videos on social networks of influencers claiming that three medicinal plants can cure coronavirus.

Unfortunately, the spread of false information about the disease proved faster than the dissemination of reliable data by the authorities and the health crisis team. 

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as in many other African nations, the commitment to ensuring access to public information remains an unfulfilled ambition. Journalists struggle to obtain information, and the community is exposed to biased, fabricated and unverified news by extremist groups, political actors and influencers with a commercial and unethical view of information.

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Meta’s decision to scrap third-party fact-checking is worrying

Fortunately, the rise of fact-checking on the international scene offers journalists another way of fulfilling their civic duty to society. Indeed, these programs serve as a link between leaders and the public, while helping to clarify opinions.

It would be worrying if Meta were to stop collaborating with external fact-checkers in countries where access to information is limited.

The illiteracy rate, still high on the continent, exposes communities that have not sufficiently developed critical thinking to the temptation of relaying information before having verified it.

Have you noticed any information that seems dubious on social networks?

If your answer is yes, you can report it to Balobaki Check by sending us an e-mail: balobakicheck@gmail.com

Balobaki Check is a non-partisan organization that aims to promote accurate information in the public debate in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in order to strengthen our democracy through journalist training, media education and quality content to combat hate messages and false information (Fakenews) within communities.

 

However, there has been significant progress. According to UNESCO’s latest Education Global Monitoring Report 2023, the out-of-school population in sub-Saharan Africa at primary and secondary levels has fallen from 44% in 2000 to 29% in 2020. Over the same period, the youth literacy rate in sub-Saharan Africa rose from 66% to 77.5%, and the adult literacy rate from 52.6% to 64.3%.

 

Replace fact-checking with community ratings

“We’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community ratings, starting with the US,” said the group’s boss in a message on social networks. The Facebook boss believes that “fact-checkers have been too politically oriented and have done more to reduce trust than improve it, especially in the US”.

This argument is “false” and will lead to “harm in many places”, the International Fact-Checking Network IFCN opined on Thursday, January 9, 2025.

Angie Drobnic Holan, Director of the International Fact-Checking Network, reminds us

“This decision will hurt social media users who are looking for accurate, reliable information to make decisions about their everyday lives and interactions with friends and family. Fact-checking journalism has never censored or removed posts; it’s added information and context to controversial claims, and it’s debunked hoax content and conspiracy theories. The fact-checkers used by Meta follow a Code of Principles requiring nonpartisanship and transparency. It’s unfortunate that this decision comes in the wake of extreme political pressure from a new administration and its supporters. Factcheckers have not been biased in their work — that attack line comes from those who feel they should be able to exaggerate and lie without rebuttal or contradiction.”  

 

Meta France has claimed that it will only be deployed in the USA, according to the French Minister Delegate for Artificial Intelligence and Digital, who tweeted about it. 

Committed to integrity, we work to improve our productions on a daily basis to follow the codes and principles of the International Fact Checking Network, a section of the Poynter Institute whose mission is to bring together fact checkers from around the world. We work to adhere to their fundamental operating principles of commitment to impartiality, transparency and accuracy.

  • Commitment to impartiality and fairness
  • Commitment to standards and transparency of sources
  • Commitment to transparency of funding and organization
  • Commitment to standards and transparency of methodology
  • Commitment to open and honest corrections

Writting by : Ange Kasongo, journalist and author of the Book “la démocratie congolaise à l’ère des réseaux sociaux des Fakenews et de la manipulation'”. She is the founder of Balobaki Check. 

 

Lire la version en langue française ici

Fact-checking — Meta : si Mark Zuckerberg étend sa décision en Afrique, cela contribuerait à un désordre de l’information alors que l’accès à l’information est limité dans certains pays

 

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