A network of fact-checkers is set to lose a major source of revenue and may even close shop after Facebook parent company Meta announced it would terminate their contracts and move towards a system closer to X's Community Notes.
"We don't have much time left. At this rate, we are done in a few months," Check Your Fact managing editor, Jesse Stiller, told Fox News Digital.
"We were blindsided by this. This was totally unexpected and out of left field for us. We weren't aware this decision was being considered until Mark dropped the video overnight. We have no idea what the future looks like for the website going forward," he added.
On January 7, 2025, Meta revealed that it would end its fact-checking program and lift some content moderation policies to "restore free expression" across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
Prior to the announcement, Meta repeatedly stressed they were committed to supporting a long-term independent fact-checking industry to address "misinformation" online.
In an April 2022 blog post, Meta claimed it had built the "largest global fact-checking network of any platform" and contributed more than $100 million to fact-checking programs since 2016.
Meta did not reply when asked how much money it had given to third-party fact-checkers before announcing the end of the program in early January 2025.
According to the company's website, Meta began prioritizing "additional support and resources" for fact-checkers in early 2020 to combat health "misinformation."
As part of this initiative, Meta launched a $1 million emergency grant program in partnership with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to tackle information about the COVID-19 pandemic.
IFCN created the CoronaVirusFacts Alliance, in which nearly 100 fact-checking organizations in more than 70 countries produced over 11,000 fact-checks about COVID-19 across 40 languages. Seven fact-checking organization projects specifically focused on vaccine "misinformation."
In August, Zuckerberg admitted that the Biden White House had pressured Meta to censor some health information during the pandemic.
Zuckerberg told podcast host Joe Rogan in January that members of the Biden administration would "scream" and "curse" at his employees, demanding they take down information, especially during the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine program.
Meta later gave the IFCN a $1 million "Climate Misinformation Grant." The grant, in part, provided funding to organizations working to combat "climate misinformation" and supported collaborative partnerships between fact-checkers and "climate experts."
The company also provided funding for fact-checkers to "increase their capacity to promote reliable information" ahead of the 2022 elections in various countries, including the U.S., Australia, France and India.
In the United States, Meta worked with the following third-party fact-checkers: AFP – Hub, Check Your Fact, Factcheck.org, Lead Stories, PolitiFact, Science Feedback, Reuters Fact Check, TelevisaUnivision, The Dispatch and USA Today.
All 10 of these partners are expected to lose their funding. It is unclear when or if Meta's changes will affect overseas fact-checkers.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Meta's chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, claimed that these fact-checkers failed to remain neutral.
"We went to independent, third-party fact-checkers," Kaplan said. "It has become clear there is too much political bias in what they choose to fact-check because, basically, they get to fact-check whatever they see on the platform."
Since the pivot away from third-party fact-checking, several of these fact-checking organizations with financial ties to the tech conglomerate have issued statements critical of Zuckerberg and Meta's claims of political bias.
Previously, these groups were often paid for each published fact-check using Meta's platforms and tools.
For example, PolitiFact, according to its financial disclosures, earned over five percent of its 2024 revenue from the partnership.
PolitiFact told Fox News Digital that the organization, one of the original participants in Meta's third-party fact-checking program, will be affected by the company's decision to discontinue it.
META ISSUES SWEEPING CHANGES TO RESTORE FREE SPEECH ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM
They also pointed Fox News Digital to comments made by PolitiFact parent Poynter Institute President Neil Brown, who called Meta's decision a "disappointing cop-out" that "perpetuates a misunderstanding of its own program."
"Facts are not censorship. Fact-checkers never censored anything. And Meta always held the cards. It's time to quit invoking inflammatory and false language in describing the role of journalists and fact-checking," Brown said.
Lead Stories, a Facebook fact-checker employing several former CNN alumni, told The New York Times that it is now doing a large chunk of its work for TikTok's parent company, Bytedance. Meta was previously the fact-checker's primary client.
The company was shocked by Zuckerberg's announcement, considering Lead Stories signed a new yearlong contract with Meta just three weeks ago. Lead Stories admitted that it would see a drop in revenue after severing ties with Meta—a reality that will result in a "staffing reduction," according to co-founder Alan Duke.
"Cutting fact-checkers from social platforms is like disbanding your fire department," he told CNN in early January.
META ISSUES SWEEPING CHANGES TO RESTORE FREE SPEECH ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Kristin Roberts, the chief content officer of Gannet Media (USA Today's parent company), said, "Fact-based journalism is what USA Today does best."
"We are the nation's trusted news source because we provide unbiased and essential content for all people. Truth and facts serve everyone — not the right or the left — and that's what we will continue to deliver," she continued.
The company did not provide information on its financial relationship with Meta.
TelevisaUnivision, Lead Stories, Factcheck.org, AFP – Hub, The Dispatch and Science Feedback did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Reuters declined to comment.