Geneva:Rollbacks on social media fact-checking and moderation safeguards are reopening the floodgates of hate, the UN chief warned Monday, saying the poisonous atmosphere would lead to free speech shrinking. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said people would become increasingly fearful to engage on social media.
"As fast-moving technologies expand into every aspect of our lives, I am deeply concerned about human rights being undermined," he told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Guterres said at best, social media was a meeting ground for people to exchange ideas in respectful debate, but at worst, it could be an arena for combat and "blatant ignorance".
"A place where the poisons of misinformation, disinformation, racism, misogyny and hate speech are not only tolerated -- but often encouraged." He said verbal attacks could easily become physical violence. "Recent rollbacks on social media fact-checking and content moderation are re-opening the floodgates to more hate, more threats, and more violence.
"Make no mistake. These rollbacks will lead to less free speech, not more, as people become increasingly fearful to engage on these platforms." Last month, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg ended the company's US fact-checking programme that aimed to combat misinformation on its platforms. The programme had faced criticism from conservatives who viewed it as censorship.