After notorious censor Meta announced sweeping changes in favor of freedom of speech, free speech advocates celebrated the move online.
On Tuesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company’s platforms would be returning to their roots of free speech. MRC Founder and President Brent Bozell, MRC VP for Free Speech America Dan Schneider, X owner Elon Musk and Daily Wire co-founder and talk show host Ben Shapiro are among those who see the social media CEO’s announcement as a sign of hope. 
Meta announced major changes, including ending its third-party fact-checking program, allowing discussions on some topics that woke censors previously considered off limits, and taking a more personalized and less heavy-handed approach to political content on the platforms.
Schneider, for his part, lauded the move, declaring, “The First Amendment was on life support, but Facebook has just switched sides and joined the effort to save free speech and our democratic Republic!”
Bozell commended Zuckerberg for “doing the right thing and enacting real, meaningful reforms to move Facebook closer to a platform for free speech.” He went on: after years of saying Meta “should strengthen freedom and democracy around the world,” Zuckerberg “has taken a giant step toward helping to grow freedom everywhere.” Bozell reminded users that Meta previously banned then-President Donald Trump’s accounts and that its platforms have “1,725 cases of censorship in [MRC’s] CensorTrack database.” But, he noted, it takes “real courage by acknowledging his company’s past mistakes and outlining, with specificity, how he will do better,” including by allowing discussions on transgenderism and climate change and reversing restrictions on political speech.
Most significantly, Zuckerberg has vowed to axe the fact checking system with its “coalition of leftist activists that target conservative speech,” Bozell approved. “Our years-long battle for free speech on the internet has finally borne fruit. I also want to thank my allies in the Free Speech Alliance and all the patriotic Americans who have stood with us for bringing about this great victory for free speech. We have many more battles ahead, but this is a major step forward for Facebook.” Bozell concluded with a call to other Big Tech companies to do the same.
MRC was joined by others in commending the free speech pivot by Meta. Zuckerberg rival Musk commented that Meta converting its third party fact checking program into a system more like X’s Community Notes “is cool.”
Shapiro was also thrilled, posting, “Facebook has just completely REVERSED course on censorship, after years of doing the Democratic Party’s anti-free speech bidding. It’s beyond time. Good for Zuckerberg – and let’s be real, this happened because Trump won. STILL NOT TIRED OF THE WINNING!”
Turning Point USA founder and MRC Free Speech America Board Advisor Charlie Kirk agreed that “these are bold steps in the right direction and we should hope for their success.”
Commenting on the new direction and Zuckerberg’s tone, other prominent figures also added to the praise for the move. Breaking Points co-host Saagar Enjeti shared the video of Zuckerberg, and suggested that “tonally it is one of the biggest indications of ‘elections have consequences’ I have ever seen.” Filmmaker Robby Starbuck enthusiastically announced, “This is the boldest move Zuckerberg has ever made.”
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