itstargetnews
Meta is ending its fact-checking program
Meta will stop using third-party fact-checkers on Facebook, Threads, and Instagram. Instead, it will rely on users to add notes to posts that may be false or misleading, similar to the system used on X. Follow our live broadcast.
The turnaround is a clear sign of how Meta is repositioning itself for a Trump presidency, and few other major companies have worked so openly to bow out. The company recently notified Trump officials of the change, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also said yesterday that Meta had added Dana White, the head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and a longtime friend of Trump’s. your board.
Zuckerberg said the change will begin in the US in the coming months.
“It’s time to go back to our roots around freedom of expression,” he said, adding that the current system “has reached a point where there are too many mistakes and too much censorship.” He acknowledged that the decision will lead to more “bad things” on the platform and called it a “concession” that will also result in fewer “innocent people” posts being taken down.
Reactions: Trump seemed to like the move. At a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect said Meta “has come a long way.” He also admitted that the change was “probably” due to threats he made to Meta and Zuckerberg. His conservative allies were quick to applaud the decision. Many of them felt they were unfairly targeted by the program. Several digital rights groups condemned the decision.
At least 126 dead in an earthquake in Tibet
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake yesterday killed at least 126 people in Dingri County, near one of Tibet’s most historic cities, in western China. At least 188 were injured. The quake was the country’s deadliest since December 2023, when 151 people died in a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in the northwestern provinces of Gansu and Qinghai.
Chinese state television said at least 1,000 homes were damaged and rescue efforts were hampered by logistical challenges. The remoteness of the area, along the Himalayan border with Nepal, made it difficult to supply resources. With temperatures in the region reaching as low as 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 Celsius), rescuers had a short window to locate survivors.
US officials have said that genocide has occurred in Sudan
The US announced yesterday that the Rapid Support Force, a paramilitary group, and its allies committed genocide in Sudan in a battle against the country’s military. The wave of violence took place in West Darfur, where men, boys and infants were targeted and killed and women raped “on an ethnic basis”, said Antony Blinken, the secretary of state.
The genocide decision followed months of government deliberation as officials considered the merits of the case. The verdict could prompt a new attempt at accountability in Africa’s biggest war, which caused up to 150,000 deaths.
MORE TOP NEWS
Snakes compete for many of the same resources and spaces as humans, often with dire consequences. Venomous snakes kill about 120,000 people a year, most of them in parts of Africa far from clinics and populated by people too poor to afford proper care.
The problem was largely ignored until recently, but scientists are now trying to better quantify it. Read more.
Lived lives: Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the modern political far-right in France, died at 96.
Peter Yarrow, from the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, known for hits like “Puff the Magic Dragon”, died at 86.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
Celebrate Austen’s England (and her birthday)
Author Jane Austen would have turned 250 this year, and celebrations are marked throughout the year in south-west England. In bucolic Hampshire – home to her cottage, now a museum – Austen was at her most prolific as a novelist.
Austen’s former home is just one of the Travel desk’s favorite places this year. His list of “52 places to visit in 2025” also includes Assam, India, for tea gardens and pyramids, and Angola, for beaches and sacred waterfalls. In Koh Samui, Thailand, fans of the “White Lotus” series can walk along the sandy beaches and jungle where the upcoming season was filmed.
