Fact Checker or Opinion Giver?
Stossel vs Facebook
Facebook, Er…Meta quietly admitted it’s infamous “Fact Checkers, are in fact, merely, “Opinion Givers.”
Facebook while responding to a lawsuit filed by John Stossel, said the “fact check” was an “opinion,” not an actual check of facts or declaration of facts. Under libel law, opinions are protected from liability for libel.
Stossel’s case is centered around the claim that he was defamed by a “fact check” that Facebook used to inform viewers a video he posted was “misleading.”
He explains here:
In other words, Facebook revealed that their “fact checks” are not factual at all and they should instead be labeled as “Meta’s official opinion.”
Regardless of the outcome of the case, this is a huge public relations disaster for the biggest social media company in the world.
Many Facebook users and pages have been restricted, suspended, or nuked completely because of “false information.” A lot of people have lost revenue streams and reputations for simply being labeled “false” on various social media platforms all under the guise of “truth.” While there is consolation in this embarrassing admission, I wouldn’t hold my breath for Meta to repent.
Facebook doesn’t employ these “opinion givers,” they farm out the service. In our experience with tracking down some of the “opinion givers” for clarification we found many to be college interns. That should be a clue to their credibility when given the responsibility of stomping out hundreds of thousands of voices.
In a time when even the most sane people can ask themselves if they are going crazy for unwittingly falling for “fake news,” there seems to be a moment of clarity here. Yes, fake news travels on the internet. However, with a sigh of relief, most of us can say the labels being placed on us by people with an agenda are not true.
Without a doubt, most misinformation and disinformation come straight from the cathedral via social media and the corporate press. See below:
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