Fact-checking has emerged as one of the most prominent policy tools to combat the spread of misinformation, but critics have argued that it infringes upon freedom of expression and that it has no meaningful impact on the circulation of misinformation. This column provides evidence from the field that fact-checking significantly reduces engagement with posts on Facebook rated as false and also decreases users' subsequent activity. The findings suggest that the impact of fact-checking primarily results not from Facebook’s actions to hide or demote content, but rather from users’ behavioural responses, challenging the idea that it suppresses free speech.
Most fact checkers I’ve seen so far have had pretty poor methodology. Mostly a “here are three people on the internet that confirm my point of view, therefore it is fact and because
we drew ourselves as the chad wojack firstuh… because this is a fact checking site it’s the truth”.