(MENAFN- Live Mint) Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded defiantly to criticism of his company's recent decision to eliminate third-party fact-checking and relax content moderation rules across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Many users have expressed concerns that these changes could lead to increased misinformation and an exodus of users, with some accusing Zuckerberg of pandering to political figures like President-elect Donald Trump.

In a reply on Threads, Zuckerberg shrugged off the criticisms, suggesting that those who choose to leave the platforms are merely“virtue signaling.”

He emphasized that the changes were intended to improve the user experience, particularly with the introduction of the Community Notes feature.“I'm counting on these changes actually making our platforms better,” Zuckerberg wrote.“I think Community Notes will be more effective than fact-checkers, reducing the number of people whose accounts get mistakenly banned is good, people want to be able to discuss civic topics and make arguments that are in the mainstream of political discourse.”

The controversy stems from Meta's shift away from third-party fact-checking , a measure designed to curb the spread of misinformation, and the decision to remove certain restrictions on topics like immigration and gender. Zuckerberg argued that these policies had become outdated and out of touch with mainstream discourse.

In post on Threads, one user had accused Meta of creating a "chokehold" by making it difficult for people to leave, while profiting from their continued presence. The user argued that Meta was trapping users in a cycle that reinforced the company's business model. "Meta has us in a chokehold. They make money off our presence in order to continue to be in business and yet it's too difficult for people to leave,” the user wrote.

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