‘Trolling free-for-all’: Australian politicians and experts criticise Meta for ditching factchecking

Mark Zuckerberg says time to get back to our roots' around free expression but opponents argue ordinary citizens should be very concerned'

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Australian politicians and experts have expressed concern over Meta's decision to abandon factchecking on its platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, saying the move would turbocharge" the spread of lies and hate speech around the world.

Meta's billionaire founder, Mark Zuckerberg, announced overnight Australia-time that the company's factchecking programs would be scrapped. In a video message, Zuckerberg vowed to prioritise free speech after the return of Donald Trump to the White House and said that, starting in the US, he would get rid of factcheckers and replace them with community notes similar to X".

Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email