How “Activists” Hijacked Facebook’s Fact Checking Program

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. In a resounding exposé, Australian reporters have furthered what we shone a spotlight on earlier this week where we showed how Facebook’s fact-checking operations – the very operations that have been advertised as independent – are actually receiving large payments from Meta itself. As reported by Sky News, these allegations suggest that “hijacking” by activists has plagued the fact-checking of coverage tied to a contentious Australian referendum campaign, known as “the Voice.” The investigation shines a light on the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum, a proposal to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. This entity would aim to voice matters concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the Parliament and the Executive Government. The operation of Facebook, led by Meta, and its alleged manipulation of public opinion has been the center of not just this exposé, but also public attention. According to Sky News, findings bring to light policy violations, questionable expired fact-checking credentials, and suspected conflicts of interest. This investigative journey started with an exploration into Meta’s founder Mark Zuckerberg’s claim that Facebook’s fact-checking is managed by the independent International Fact Checking Network. However, the findings seem to add a different color to this narrative. An Australian university, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), which is among the enlisted fact-checkers, allegedly entered into a commercial contract with an Irish Meta subsidiary, a deal which could be worth above $740,000…How “Activists” Hijacked Facebook’s Fact Checking Program