The future of fake news - 20th January 2025

Two of the biggest technology companies, Meta and Apple, have just made huge changes. These are making people nervous. The news which users can now read is more likely to be fake.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is planning to stop using the International Fact-Checking Network, IFCN. This organisation helped to check information on the sites. The companies will use 'community notes' instead. Different users can now comment on whether stories are true or fake.

Countries such as Australia and Brazil are unhappy about this. The IFCN says the changes are unsafe. They'll make situations like political elections more dangerous. The IFCN says social media users will have a difficult time finding true information.

Meta's Mark Zuckerberg began fact-checking after President Trump was first elected in 2016. He was worried that Trump had won because of false information. Zuckerberg disliked Trump then. Now Trump's back in The White House, some say Zuckerberg's goal is to improve their relationship.

At the same time, Apple's creating similar problems for users. Apple Intelligence builds short news stories which are sometimes incorrect. And the news looks like a true report, from reliable media companies such as the BBC.

Apple was asked again and again to shut down its AI feature. It has finally agreed to do it.