Meta is removing fewer posts because its moderation rules are more relaxed.

Question

Meta has recently shifted its social media approach toward free expression. This leads to fewer posts being taken down, even ones that previously could've violated rules about misinformation or harmful content. Instead of removing posts immediately, Meta is trying a different approach, such as changing who can view certain posts and using user feedback. This shows Meta’s Commitment to user input and a freer online space. 

This claim is valid because, according to Wired, Meta reported taking down 50% fewer posts that violated its rules across Facebook and Instagram. Meta’s moderators have been told to be less aggressive when assessing posts, and Meta publicly acknowledged a shift toward “speech over safety.” As a result, posts across Facebook and Instagram are being taken down at a significantly lower rate.

Answer 1

According to Meta "We’re getting rid of a number of restrictions on topics like immigration, gender identity and gender that are the subject of frequent political discourse and debate. It’s not right that things can be said on TV or the floor of Congress, but not on our platforms." Later that year, Meta released an integrity report  And reported that their relaxing of policy they had reduced the amount of content they took action against.  "Across a range of policy areas we saw a decrease in the amount of content actioned and a decrease in the percent of content we took action on before a user reported it. With all this in mind, the claim that Meta is removing fewer posts because of changes in moderation to be more "relaxed" is valid. As evident in the more controversial and sometimes politically charged topics such as immigration, gender, etc being opened for further discussion. 

Answer 2

From looking into the article attached as well as looking at announcements from the official meta website, it seems that yes, in 2025 they changed how posts get filtered, resulting in more relaxed rules. “Starting in the US, we are ending our third party fact-checking program and moving to a Community Notes model. We will allow more speech by lifting restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discourse and focusing our enforcement on illegal and high-severity violations. We will take a more personalized approach to political content, so that people who want to see more of it in their feeds can.” but this doesn't exactly confirm what is still being taken down and what is allowed to stay.