IFCN Director Angie Drobnic Holan comments on Meta and community notes following the Oversight Board's recent advisory - Poynter

"It's heartening that the independent Oversight Board recognized that fact-checking plays a critical and unique role in providing accurate, high-quality information for the benefit of people using social media. We agree with the board's insights through its recent policy advisory that Meta's community notes program alone is simply not adequate when it comes to reducing the impact of harmful falsehoods on its platforms."

"Fact-checkers welcome the opportunity to work with Meta, as well as other technology companies, to develop new ways to provide users with additional accurate information and content. Fact-checking is a form of journalism and an exercise in freedom of expression that remains a critical part of the internet."

"Meta reported that 900 community notes became visible in the first six months of its U.S. rollout, yet over a similar period in the European Union, professional fact-checkers enabled Meta to apply labels to approximately 35 million Facebook posts, as noted by the European Fact-Checking Standards Network."

"We stand with the in urging Meta to listen to their Oversight Board's warnings and adopt a hybrid model where crowdsourcing notes complement professional fact-checking efforts."

The Oversight Board provided guidance on Meta's community notes program, which replaced third-party fact-checking in the U.S. in 2025. The board highlighted the program's limitations and urged caution in its expansion. Angie Drobnic Holan from IFCN emphasized the critical role of fact-checking in delivering accurate information on social media. She called for Meta to collaborate with fact-checking organizations and restore previous partnerships, noting the disparity in effectiveness between community notes and professional fact-checking efforts in Europe compared to the U.S.

Read at Poynter