NY Times headline on Meta fact-checkers is both confounding and hilarious … are they that dumb?

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement to curb censorship efforts that used biased fact-checkers seems to be ticking off all the right people.

In a surprise move on Tuesday, Zuckerberg announced that his Meta platforms, Facebook and Instagram were going back to their “roots.”

“We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said.

And here’s where it really gets good:

“More specifically,” Zuckerberg continued, “we’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with Community Notes similar to X, starting in the U.S.”

While champions of free speech and many on the “right” cheered the announcement, the news didn’t sit well with the so-called “fact-checkers” and those who believe them.

Case in point, the New York Times posted a headline many found both confounding and hilarious.

As the Times article posted to X stated: “Meta fact-checkers were the problem. Fact-checkers rule that false.”

That headline doesn’t appear to be a joke and conservative activist Christopher Rufo made sure X users knew by highlighting the curious screed with: “They really wrote this and then published it.”

They really wrote this and then published it. pic.twitter.com/vepEbYrQYX

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 7, 2025

Needless to say, Rufo’s X post garnered plenty of reaction and folks had fun with it on X:

How many facts could a fact checker check if a fact checker could check facts?

— Yuri Bezmenov Subversion (@yuribezmenov22) January 7, 2025

Say that 10 times fast.

Fact checkers checking themselves and finding no lies is literally the same as government investigating themselves and finding no wrong.

— Fight With Memes (@fightwithmemes) January 7, 2025

This actually does an effective job revealing the problem with the fact-checking industry (perhaps by accident).

— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) January 7, 2025

It sure does.

pic.twitter.com/saJRrwyYFf

— Andrew Moser (@Andrew_Moser_) January 8, 2025

Wow. And the NYT article quotes PolitFact as a reliable source… They really don’t get the joke…

— Steve Gordon (@stevemgordon67) January 7, 2025

They really don’t.

I am so confused. Were they purposefully trying to be funny or are they really that dumb? With today’s media you just can’t tell anymore.

— David Karim (@davidkarim) January 7, 2025

Even the satirical Babylon Bee didn’t have to adjust the angle to make what should be a satirical headline the reality.

I thought The Babylon Bee was supposed to be a satirical site. pic.twitter.com/y4AJq5hfK8

— Marc (@gopher_marc) January 8, 2025

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!