Mark Zuckerberg announced this week the end of Meta's program with third-party fact-checkers, accusing them of "censorship" and "political bias." Instead, Zuckerberg says Meta’s platforms will shift to community notes, a system similar to platform X. But fact-checkers are pushing back, calling Zuckerberg’s move a transparent attempt to curry favor with the incoming Trump administration at the expense of truth. While community notes may offer some transparency, critics argue it can't keep up with the volume of misinformation. Aaron Sharockman of PolitiFact says that fact-checking isn’t about censorship, but about adding context to misleading content. He also cautions against following Elon Musk’s lead, noting that when the site “removed all these restrictions, a large percentage of their advertisers left.” Chris Richmond, CEO of Snopes, questions the timing of Zuckerberg's decision, saying, "If Kamala Harris had won, would Zuckerberg be making these same moves now?"

The funds allow states like California to create barriers to stop the spread of fires