Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will end its fact-checking program and instead implement a community-driven fact-checking protocol. This change begs the question of how reliable information will remain on platforms where user-driven verification might be influenced by bias or misinformation.
The end of fact checking could potentially lead to a major decrease in media literacy which has already been seen with the increase in AI and false information that is being spread online. According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer survey, 54% of participants said they felt like technology was advancing too quickly to be able to make proper choices with it.
This is especially a problem when so much of what people consume is designed to be engaging rather than educational. Clickbait headlines, viral posts, and out-of-context clips rack up millions of views, shaping public opinion before anyone stops to check if the content is even accurate. The more sensational something is, the faster it spreads, and once misinformation is out there, it’s almost impossible to take it back. Even when corrections are made, they never reach as many people as the original false claim.
The rapid evolution of technology has brought with it an alarming decline in media literacy. As misinformation spreads faster and wider across digital platforms, the ability to critically evaluate information is becoming a skill in increasingly short supply.
Additionally, the growth of AI-generated content and how easily misinformation can be created and spread has made the problem even worse. People used to depend on reliable info from trusted sources, but now the media scene is filled with questionable claims, altered images, and content driven by algorithms that aim to entertain rather than educate.
Especially among younger folks who have grown up in a digital world but haven’t been given the right tools to think critically about it, this new technological environment is unhealthy. With everyone focused on quick and easy content consumption, the importance of checking facts, and spotting bias often gets ignored.
Furthermore, technology is essential to all communication now. Having media literacy goes beyond just needing to be able to recognize whether news is true or not, it’s also just being able to have clear communication online with friends. Tone can be hard to read online, so the importance of having media literacy is only evolving, you need it not only to understand news but to communicate with friends and family.
At the same time, social media’s influence has made it easier than ever for people to exist in echo chambers, only seeing information that reinforces what they already believe. Algorithms feed users content based on their past interactions, creating bubbles that make it harder to see different perspectives. This only fuels division,
The fallout from this is significant. A misinformed public is easier to manipulate, more likely to become polarized, and less able to participate in meaningful discussions. The political geography of 2025 is extremely turbulent with it being a year with a new president.
The internet commonly gets caught up in pointing out the negative on an individual, leading to two very split groups of people, this can be seen in the extreme two-party split we have going on in the US. Improving media literacy will help people adjust to realize everything isn’t so black and white, it’s something society needs to tackle together.
Looking at pieces of content and learning to question and learn is the only way to improve our ability to discern what is true and what is false. It’s rare that a school teaches students ways to discern fact from fiction, but with a greater conversation around media literacy, more people can properly learn to question and decipher news.
Social media won’t be going away anytime soon. It will only continue to change, like Meta’s new fact-checking policy, and more than likely continue to grow as a channel for communication. Understanding these changes and learning from them will ultimately help for a stronger and more united population of people in the US and around the globe.
