I wholeheartedly welcome Zuckerberg’s fact-checking removal

In my LinkedIn feed, I came across this comment reacting to Zuckerberg’s latest announcement (fact-checking policy changes). I blacked out the author. He’s the CEO of a non-profit organization:

My reply:

My comment is rushed, but it captures my sentiment well.

Let me be clear (double standards, I know): I fucking hate censorship warriors. Yes, in this day and age, we all deal with information overload, and some of it is misinformation. But I’d rather navigate this complex world on my own — as mature individuals do, at least in modern and free societies — than let virtue-signaling people decide what I’m allowed or not allowed to see.

I want young people to navigate this world in the same way, even if they’re less experienced or mature. Because I trust in them and their intelligence. That’s how you find the truth and form your opinions: by navigating, by hearing different sides of the story, and by uncovering — even if gradually — what’s true and what’s a lie.

I’m open to being exposed to the entirety of the information — from villains to heroes, from every voice, qualified or not, on a broad range of topics.

If I don’t like or agree with someone, I don’t have to follow them. If I want the real truth, I can dig deeper and listen to more voices. It’s the removal of voices that leads to lies and biases. It’s the taboos that help forbidden fruits ripen and spread.

Kudos, Mark Zuckerberg.