pic.twitter.com/5xCdrWmQEH

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2025

https://archewell.org/news/fact-checking-meta/

It doesn’t matter whether your views are left, right or somewhere in between—the latest news from Meta about changes to their policies directly undermines free speech. 

This should deeply concern us all. 

Contrary to the company’s talking points, allowing more abuse and normalizing hate speech serves to silence speech and expression, not foster it. 

In an already confusing and, in many instances, intentionally disruptive information environment, Meta has shown their words and commitments have very little meaning or integrity. As they announce these changes undoubtedly responding to political winds, they once again abandon public safety in favor of profit, chaos, and control. The company’s decision to rollback protections is so far away from its stated values and commitments to its users—including the parents and families calling for change around the globe—that it’s now deeply deceptive. 

Millions of people are using Meta’s platforms in the United States. Hundreds of millions more are using them globally. Many use the platform to spread joy, build community, and share empowering information. Unfortunately, Meta’s recent decisions go directly against its stated mission to “build human connection” and instead prioritize those using the platforms to spread hate, lies and division at the expense of everyone else. 

Given the profound global impact Meta’s decisions have on the world—of which many are still recovering from or actively suffering from—the politics of one country should never determine whether freedom of expression and civil and human rights are protected in the online spaces so clearly shaping or destroying democracy. 

Online spaces must be designed with public safety and well-being at their core, resilient against political pressures and lapses in corporate leadership. This latest move from Meta is an example of a social media company—fully aware of their power to shape public discourse—disregarding any responsibility to ensure that power is not abused and instead allowing either ego or profit, likely both, to guide decisions that affect billions. 

We are particularly alarmed by plans to abandon commitments to diversity and equity, coupled with internal policy changes that undermine protections for marginalized communities. These decisions echo what experts, whistleblowers, and families have raised in hearings on online harm, especially regarding children’s safety: platform design, dictated by internal policies, directly determines our online experience.

To ignore this is knowingly putting everyone in harm’s way and contributing to a global mental health crisis. 

Meta’s changes to its ‘Hateful Content Policies’ do not protect free expression but instead foster an environment where abuse and hate speech silence and threaten the voices of whole communities who make up a healthy democracy. 

We urge Meta to reconsider and reinstate policies to protect all users. We also call on leaders across industries to uphold their commitments to integrity and public safety in online spaces, and we applaud leaders who refuse to kowtow to bullying. 

In response to these harmful setbacks, we continue to act. We proudly support organizations like the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry, Parents Together, 5Rights Foundation, Accountable Tech, HalfTheStory, The Marcy Lab School, and the Responsible Tech Youth Power Fund, who advocate for accountability and fairness online. Building on this commitment, we are making new contributions to those working to help policymakers better understand platform design impacts and partnering with Screen Sanity to expand their curriculum with a safety-by-design module for parents navigating the digital age.

Having worked in this space for the last five years and witnessing the real-world devastation these decisions have, we feel there is no justification for why this industry behaves as if they are exempt from the ethical and moral standards everyone else abides by. 

We at The Archewell Foundation remain committed to promoting accountability, safeguarding information integrity, and protecting all communities in the digital age. We hope and expect those enabling Meta’s profits, like advertisers and shareholders, to do the same. 

Lisa Wilkinson .. is said to have her sights on stepping into the world of politics. 🤦‍♀️

Lisa Wilkinson plans major comeback as her shock 'new career' is revealed: 'Always had a keen interest'
via https://t.co/8YzVk6b2Ou https://t.co/hMxceoFA90

— daisymay4263 🌼🌼🌼 (@daisymay4263) January 13, 2025

There was never a sound business case for the government to monopolize Australia's fixed broadband networks.

5G mobile networks represent just one example of the NBN technology being overtaken - with no taxpayer liability.

It's almost 20 years since Kevin Rudd went to a federal election with a back-of-a-beer-coaster plan for a government broadband bureaucracy.

Since then, commercial investment, cost and price reduction and competition-driven-innovation has been removed from fixed broadband networks - by law - in Australia.

We are much the worse for it.  Go for a trip through any Asian country to compare and contrast how bad Australia has it.

Such genii as Stephen Conroy and Malcolm Turnbull are responsible for this disaster.  Now the unmatchable genius of Therapeutic Albanese is directing another $3 billion taxpayer money into the NBN black hole.

Pity my country.

pic.twitter.com/PtMhoyq6Lj

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 12, 2025

We can call it out, and all those who propagate it. https://t.co/Z4CePmiHj3

— Peter FitzSimons (@Peter_Fitz) January 12, 2025

This will scale to enormous numbers, as California passed a bill providing free healthcare for illegals that just took effect last year.

Essentially, anyone on Earth can come to California for free healthcare.

Earth has 8 billion people, but California has 40 million people.… https://t.co/k34z1Zj305

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 12, 2025

This video was circulated on YT a year ago Tousi TV

 

https://youtu.be/iiLrqCkYuaE?si=9KnJXccQ_sImxVmY and

 

Travelling Tim

 

https://youtu.be/8KvgAQT1cZg?si=1gjAedWk9lXFFKnn

 

There has been an explosion of copycat videos over the last 24 hours. None of them, including those from a year ago, had any link to the original video.

 

The Welsh Refugee Council site has no such video.

 

Sure there may have been one but deleted, however those two videos in their descriptions would have had a now broken link.

 

This is a fear inducing satirical fake put out by 'lizard people' ie those who benefit from the populace buying into fear and generating negative emotional pollution.

Listen to this clip… it’s so ridiculous it’s unreal. They call her Princess Markle then try to make out she was doing something by leaning over a bin. 😂😬

And as for the woman with them…that she hugs for the cameras, she leaves with them? So she’s staff? Compassion in action. pic.twitter.com/JzqI3mbrFc

— According2Taz (@according2_taz) January 11, 2025

Reminds me of a famed Bill Shorten clip.

Listen to this clip… it’s so ridiculous it’s unreal. They call her Princess Markle then try to make out she was doing something by leaning over a bin. 😂😬

And as for the woman with them…that she hugs for the cameras, she leaves with them? So she’s staff? Compassion in action. pic.twitter.com/JzqI3mbrFc

— According2Taz (@according2_taz) January 11, 2025