Facebook admits that their fact checkers are nothing more than opinion

by The Right Scoop

Facebook has now admitted in court that their so-called fact checkers really aren’t anything other than people writing opinions. They’re saying this to defend themselves in a lawsuit where they defamed John Stossel with a ‘fact check’:

Here’s more from Zero Hedge:

Surprisingly little attention is being paid to a bombshell admission made by the attorneys representing the corporation formerly known as Facebook, Inc., which has now transitioned into Meta Platforms, Inc.

In a court filing responding to a lawsuit filed by John Stossel claiming that he was defamed by a “fact check” Facebook used to label a video by him as “misleading,” Meta’s attorneys assert that the “fact check” was an “opinion,” not an actual check of facts and declaration of facts. Under libel law, opinions are protected from liability for libel.

Anthony Watts of Wattsupwiththat explains:

Opinions are not subject to defamation claims, while false assertions of fact can be subject to defamation. The quote in Facebook’s complaint is,

Meta’s attorneys come from the white shoe law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dore, with over a thousand attorneys and more than a billion dollars a year in revenue. They obviously checked out the implications of the matter for Section 230 issues, the legal protection Facebook/Meta have from liability for what is posted on their site. But at a minimum, this is a public relations disaster, revealing that their “fact checks” are not factual at all and should be labeled as “our opinion” or some such language avoiding the word “fact.”

Why call it a fact check if it isn’t one? Because it’s only a fact check if it justifies letting them control the right-wing masses and makes leftists happy. But as soon as they are held accountable for it, suddenly it’s just someone’s blathering opinion and they can’t be held liable.

I hope the court sees through this garbage and Stossel ends up owning Facebook when this is over.


Comment Policy: Please read our comment policy before making a comment. In short, please be respectful of others and do not engage in personal attacks. Otherwise we will revoke your comment privileges.