MANILA – Nobel laureate Maria Ressa has issued a stark warning of “extremely dangerous times ahead” for journalism and democracy after Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced the termination of its US fact-checking program. Ressa, co-founder of the Philippine news site Rappler and a 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has long been a vocal critic of online disinformation. She described Meta’s decision as a profit-driven move that prioritizes power and money over public safety.
“Mark Zuckerberg says it’s a free speech issue – that’s completely wrong,” Ressa said in an interview with AFP at Rappler’s newsroom in Manila. “This is about safety.”
Meta’s announcement on January 7 is widely seen as an effort by Zuckerberg to placate US President-elect Donald Trump, who has accused Meta of bias and vowed to take action against the company. Trump’s criticism comes amid a polarized debate in the United States, where fact-checking programs are seen by some conservative groups as tools for censorship.
Ressa rejected Zuckerberg’s claims that fact-checkers had become “too politically biased” and had “destroyed more trust than they’ve created.” She argued that such programs are vital for preserving truth and preventing the spread of disinformation.
“Journalists have a set of standards and ethics,” Ressa explained. “What Facebook is going to do is get rid of that and then allow lies, anger, fear, and hate to infect every single person on the platform.”
Meta’s move, Ressa warned, could lead to a “world without facts” and create conditions ripe for authoritarianism. Rappler, one of Meta’s fact-checking partners, expressed its commitment to fighting disinformation despite the company’s decision. “What has happened in the US is just the beginning,” Rappler said in a statement, describing the development as a sign of perilous times ahead for truth and individual agency.
Meta currently collaborates with about 80 fact-checking organizations worldwide, including AFP, which conducts fact-checking in 26 languages. Ressa vowed to continue advocating for “information integrity” in what she described as a pivotal year for the survival of journalism. “We’ll do all we can to make sure that happens,” she said.