☕️ Why is Meta ending its fact-checking?

I mentioned New Year’s Resolutions earlier this week, but I didn’t tell you TDA’s own goal. This year, we’re determined to further diversify our revenue streams to ensure we can continue to stay independent and provide quality journalism to everyone.

The main way we’re doing this is through TDA+U – which allows our audience to make a voluntary financial contribution to TDA.

The goal is this: 200 new TDA+U contributors by the end of January. You may have seen the email we sent out yesterday letting you know about this goal – and as a result, nearly 100 of you contributed! Just 100 left to go. You can contribute here.

With your help, we’ll keep delivering accessible, fact-checked news as we gear up for a huge year.

“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.”
Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responding to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s remark that he will use ‘economic force’ to acquire Canada as the 51st American state.

13 days
The length of time 23-year-old hiker Hadi Nazari was missing for in the New South Wales Kosciuszko National Park. Nazari was found alive yesterday in “good health” and told rescuers he had survived on two muesli bars and creek water.

2007
Steve Jobs debuted the very first iPhone. Jobs had set out to combine three products; the mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and an internet communications device to create the first of it’s kind.

The annual rate of inflation increased in November to 2.3%, up from 2.1% in October, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

However, the annual trimmed mean (the rate of inflation once you remove extreme price changes on either side) decreased from 3.5% to 3.2%.

Here’s what you need to know.

Inflation is the rise in prices of goods and services over time.

The latest ABS figures show prices increased by 2.3% from November 2023 to November 2024. This annual rate is slightly up from the 2.1% annual rate recorded in October.

According to the ABS’ Head of Prices Statistics, Michelle Marquardt, the reason for the slight increase is because of the timing of the government’s electricity rebates, which meant there was a particularly large fall in electricity bills in October.

The trimmed mean is also known as the underlying rate of inflation. This measure excludes volatile prices, such as oil affected by global supply chains, to better understand longer-term changes in prices.

The trimmed mean is what the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) partly uses to inform its decision about the cash rate.

The RBA’s target range for the trimmed mean is 2-3%. In December, when the RBA kept the cash rate the same, it said the then-rate of 3.5% “remains too high”.

The cash rate is what the RBA charges banks for short-term loans.

We usually refer to changes in the cash rate as the RBA raising interest rates, because the cash rate affects interest rates across the economy, including home loans.

The cash rate has been at 4.35% since November 2023, which is its highest level in about a decade. Higher interest rates make it more expensive to borrow.

The next cash rate announcement is on 18 February.

Meta has announced major changes to its social media moderation policies, including removing independent fact-checking moderators.

Fact-checkers have been used to filter misinformation on Meta’s platforms – Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – since 2016.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said removing fact-checkers will help “restore free expression” for millions of users.

Here’s the latest.

Since 2016, Meta has used third-party fact-checkers to identify “hoaxes” and “false claims” on its platforms. The moderation team involves more than 90 organisations across dozens of countries.

Fact-checkers look closely at content they or other users have identified as being false or misleading.

The fact-checkers then rate the accuracy of the post based on their factual review. Meta can then add a warning label and the fact-checker’s rating to the post and reduce its distribution.

Meta has announced third-party fact-checkers will no longer be used to review content across its platforms in the U.S.

In a video announcement, Zuckerberg described the current fact checking system as “complex”, and blamed it for creating “too many mistakes”.

“Even if they accidentally censor just 1% of posts, that is millions of people,” Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg said that users will soon have access to a “Community Notes” system that is similar to what exists on X.

On X, users can sign up to a program that allows them to add notes to posts made by others that contain potentially misleading or false claims. That note shows up if people who have previously disagreed on another topic agree on this topic.

Meta said its system will draw on a “diverse range of perspectives” to add context to posts.

The removal of fact-checkers is one of five shake-ups announced by Meta.

It will also remove “restrictions” placed on topics such as immigration and gender.

The platform will also reverse its recent efforts to reduce the amount of political content appearing on users’ feeds.

Zuckerberg said this was due to broad feedback that people “wanted to see this content again”.

Meta’s removal of fact checkers comes less than two weeks ahead of Trump’s official swearing-in as U.S. President.

Zuckerberg pledged to “work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world... pushing to censor more.”

Trump previously threatened to jail Zuckerberg if he did “anything illegal” during the 2024 election.

At a press conference, Trump said this threat was “probably” responsible for Meta’s decision.

Research group the Poynter Institute has been involved with Meta’s fact-checking system since 2016.

In response to Meta’s announcement, Poynter President Neil Brown said: “Facts are not censorship.”

“It’s time to quit invoking inflammatory and false language in describing the role of journalists and fact-checking.“

FactCheck.Org, which has been used by Meta, said the community notes model means “you’ll have to do more work on your own when you see questionable posts”.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

Maximise your optical extras with Specsavers!​

If you wear glasses, investing in private health insurance could help with accessing your eyewear. Many policies offer annual optical allowances, which can be used for frames and lenses.​

Specsavers partners with most health funds to offer extra value on your glasses. With certain health fund policies, you can claim two pairs of glasses from the $199 single-vision range - including designer brands.​

It’s a simple way to keep your eyewear up to date whilst making the most of your optical cover!

🍊 Newcastle United is in the hunt to break a 70-year drought.
🍊 Heard of TGL golf? This is what you need to know.
🍊 200 UK politicians have signed a letter for a cricket boycott.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: tennis, NFL, and more…

A study by the University of Southhampton aimed to understand why some patients’ tumours don’t respond to immunotherapy (a treatment that kills cancer cells by targeting the immune system). Researchers analysed cancers within tissue samples, and identified a type of connective cell that could help the body’s immune system attack tumours more effectively.

It’s hoped the discovery will lead to the development of a “supercharged” immunotherapy treatment, to improve outcomes for more patients.

Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

The mayor of a small Italian village has told residents to “not get sick.”

The rural town of Belcastro, in southern Italy, has limited access to medical facilities and doctors, making it increasingly challenging for its ageing population.

Mayor Antonio Torchia told local media he’d made a declaration “prohibiting citizens from contracting any illness or condition requiring medical intervention, especially emergencies.”

Torchia’s statement also advised residents to limit outings, travel, and physical activities to reduce health risks.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

Yesterday, Meta announced major changes to its social media moderation policies, including removing independent fact-checking moderators.

Fact-checkers have been used to filter misinformation on Meta’s platforms – Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – since 2016. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said removing fact-checkers will help “restore free expression” for millions of users. In today's deep dive, we explain what this will mean for users on Meta's platforms.