Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms (META) is altering how it handles content moderation by removing its controversial fact-checker system. This change was announced by Chief of Global Affairs Joel Kaplan, who said the feature was “well intentioned at the outset but there’s just been too much political bias in what they choose to fact check and how.”
Stay Ahead of the Market:
- Discover outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks
- Filter, analyze, and streamline your search for investment opportunities using Tipranks' Stock Screener
Investors will note that Kaplan only recently became the Chief of Global Affairs. His appointment, and this moderation alteration, are part of an internal change in policy at Meta Platforms. This has the company switching to a more conservative ideology as it prepares for President-elect Donald Trump to take office this month.
Kaplan ties into this with his strong connections to the Republican Party. He previously served as an aide to former President George W. Bush. Meta Platforms also plans to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. These moves show that Meta wants to remain on Trump’s good side for the next four years.
How Will Meta Platforms Moderate Content Now?
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is taking a page out of Elon Musk’s book for content moderation. Instead of relying on third-party fact-checkers, Facebook and Instagram will switch to a community notes system. This is similar to what X, formerly Twitter, uses to moderate user content.
Meta Platforms will still moderate content internally, but it won’t be as liberal with restrictions. Instead, the company’s algorithm will be altered to only target the most severe violations. That includes extreme and illegal content, such as child sexual exploitation, drugs, fraud, scams, and terrorism.
Is META Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Meta Platforms is Strong Buy based on 38 Buy, three Hold, and one Sell ratings over the last three months. With that comes an average price target of $680.13, a high of $811, and a low of $530. This represents a potential 8.99% upside for META shares.
