Brazil’s Lula calls Meta fact-checking changes ‘extremely serious’

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday that social media company Meta (NASDAQ:)’s decision to scrap its fact-checking program in the U.S. was “extremely serious,” and that he would discuss the matter in a meeting with government officials.

“I’m going to have a meeting today to discuss the Meta issue,” the leftist leader told reporters in Brasilia.

“I think it’s extremely serious that people want digital communication to not have the same responsibility as someone who commits a crime in the written press.”

Meta said on Tuesday it would change its fact-checking program in the U.S., leading Brazilian prosecutors to demand that it clarify whether the changes would also apply to the South American country.

Meta, which declined to comment through its office in Brazil, was given 30 days to provide a response, a document seen by Reuters showed.

The prosecutors said the order for further details was related to an ongoing probe of the actions taken by social media platforms to combat misinformation and violence online in Brazil.

Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who led the Supreme Court decision that temporarily suspended social media platform X in the country last year, stressed on Wednesday that tech firms must comply with local laws to operate in Brazil.