January 9, 2025
A Statement from Brenda Victoria Castillo, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)
The January 7, 2025 decision by Meta to willfully dismantle its fact-checking program is a flagrant act of corporate irresponsibility, placing the burden of safeguarding truth and combating information fraud squarely on the public’s shoulders. Yes, this is lazy work by Meta—but more importantly, this is reckless. By running away from their responsibility to ensure a trustworthy and healthy information ecosystem, Meta is endangering communities, particularly those that have already been targeted by harmful information fraud campaigns (i.e. disinformation).
Information fraud doesn’t exist in a vacuum—it spreads, it radicalizes, and it puts lives at risk. The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is on the frontline of defending against information fraud. In 2024, we released Seeing Beyond Information Fraud:Practical Transparency - A Guide for the Informed Individual, a holistic, bilingual (English-Spanish) living resource on information fraud to empower everyday consumers. For years, Latino communities have been disproportionately harmed by unchecked falsehoods online, often in Spanish, where platforms like Meta have consistently failed to offer adequate protections. By further reducing content moderation and abandoning any pretense of accountability, Meta is signaling that they are more concerned with profits than protecting the integrity of our public discourse.
This move is a step backward for our democracy and a betrayal of the trust users place in these platforms to foster safe, informed spaces. Meta must do better. NHMC remains committed to holding tech companies accountable for the harm they cause, leading an Information Education Movement that empowers, and advocating for policies that prioritize people over profits. Our communities deserve better.
Yours in Movement,
Brenda Victoria Castillo
President & CEO
National Hispanic Media Coalition
