Tech - Trust and Fact Checking Capabilities On Social Media Platforms

By Mmaki Jantjies (PhD)

Has a social media post ever left you wondering whether the information it conveyed was accurate and reliable? The role of social media platforms has grown significantly across business and society. These platforms are now integral to daily life in South Africa, influencing aspects such as communication, information sharing and public discourse.

Businesses and public organisations now rely on social media platforms having invested in marketing, customer engagement and information sharing for their service users and customers.

Considering the substantial role and influence of such platforms amongst users, should we be concerned about the new fact checking mechanism introduced by the global social media platforms?

According to DataReportal’s Digital 2024: South Africa report, in January 2024 South Africa had 26 million social media users, representing about 42.8 percent of the total population (DataReportal, 2024).

Here, the DataReportal survey highlighted the following key reasons for social media use among internet users aged 16-64: finding information (83.6%); researching how to do things (79.9%); staying in touch with friends and family (72.5%); finding new ideas or inspiration (69%); and keeping up-to-date with news and events (66.2%) (DataReportal, 2024).

A significant number of young people thus leverage social media platforms both as trusted platforms for key information and as a news platform.

These include many USA based social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok (its parent company headquartered in Beijing), remain dominant among South African users, offering a space for connection, content sharing and news access.

Recent changes in fact-checking by social media platforms

Some platforms have recently reduced their emphasis on fact-checking. An example of this is Twitter, coming under new ownership as X, this company has significantly reduced personnel of its fact-checking teams (Nieman Lab, 2022). The reasons cited for these changes often include cost reduction, concerns about bias and a shift towards prioritising ‘free speech’, even if at times this may include misinformation (Freedom House, 2023).

In January 2025, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta Platforms Inc., announced the discontinuation of its third-party fact-checking programme in the United States. Replacing it with a “Community Notes” system (Meta, 2025), Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg cited concerns over political bias in traditional fact-checking, emphasising free expression instead. Fact-checking plays a crucial role in maintaining information integrity by preventing misinformation, promoting informed decision-making and maintaining public trust. Establishing trust is even more critical in the age of AI-generated content as AI can blur the lines between authentic and fabricated information, making discernment challenging. Social media platforms should thus implement robust measures to ensure content accuracy and reliability.

Are Community Notes a Substitute for Fact-Checking?

As social media platforms continue to grow in importance in communities, trust in these platforms becomes paramount which explains why fact-checking processes have been built into these organisations. In replacing fact-checking teams, social media platforms will then rely on community notes as part of the fact-checking process. Community notes are a crowdsourced factchecking system on social media platforms. Users can flag potentially misleading posts, and other users can add notes providing context, corrections, or links to fact-checks. These notes are then voted on by other users, and the most helpful notes are displayed alongside the original post.

While community notes aim to combat misinformation by leveraging collective knowledge, they also present challenges, including potential manipulation, slow response times, and reliance on the expertise of nonprofessionals. Despite these challenges, community notes represent an evolving approach to information moderation on social media.

X has for a while introduced “Community Notes” which allow users to add context to potentially misleading tweets (X Help Center, 2025). However, although such notes can provide diverse perspectives, they still raise concerns about information manipulation and the spread of misinformation. Moreover, it is still debatable whether or not this crowdsourced approach is as effective as professional factchecking. As Meta’s “Community Notes” system represents a shift towards a communitydriven approach, this switch in approach raises similar concerns about accuracy and potential misinformation spread by relying on user input rather than professional fact-checkers (Meta, 2025).

Impact of Misinformation On South Africa

Misinformation has had a tangible impact in various sectors in South Africa. An example is the Listeriosis outbreak in 2017 where there was a lack of clarity on the source of the outbreak. The impact of misinformation spreading had an impact on various suppliers of processed meat with sales being impacted because of this. Another example is in cases that require complex domain knowledge, such as scientific or legal matters.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, false information about vaccines spread rapidly, contributing to vaccine hesitancy. This misinformation, often fuelled by social media, led many individuals to doubt the safety and efficacy of vaccines, despite overwhelming scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness. As a result, businesses and governments faced challenges in encouraging vaccination, which in turn affected public health efforts and impacted the broader economy. (Africa Check, 2021).

Political disinformation campaigns have also exacerbated social divisions while undermining democratic processes (Media Monitoring Africa, 2022). The challenge of misinformation is thus not unique to South Africa with several examples of its global impact available in the public domain.

Safeguarding Against Misinformation

As social media platforms evolve their approach to content moderation and fact-checking, users should assess and utilise the resources available critically. Maintaining vigilance regarding information helps to uphold the quality of public discourse while supporting the democratic process. Equally organisations engaging users on these platforms should continue to invest in the education and protection of their users on platforms they rely on while also being aware of the implications of such information changes, not only on users but also on relying on third party platforms as trusted platforms for critical user engagement.

Here are several reputable factchecking platforms available for public use:

• Africa Check: A leading independent fact-checking organization in Africa (Africa Check, 2025).

• Full Fact: A UK-based charity providing fact-checking tools and resources (Full Fact, 2025).

• Snopes: A platform investigating and debunking rumours and misinformation (Snopes, 2025).

Dr Mmaki Jantjies is an innovative leader who is passionate about harnessing the power of technology and R&D to drive change. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in Information Systems.

Sources: Africa Check (2022). The changing face of Covid misinformation in South Africa: 2020 to 2022 in review | Africa Check (2025) | DataReportal. (2024). Digital 2024: South Africa | Freedom House. (2024). To Safeguard Democracy, We Must Rebuild Trust Online | Full Fact. (2025) | Media Monitoring Africa. (2024). Tracking Trends from Real41: Impact of Mis- and Disinformation on the 2024 General Elections in South Africa | Meta. (2025). More Speech and Fewer Mistakes | Nieman Lab. (2024). News Organizations Are Leaving Twitter. What About You? | Snopes. (2025) | X Help Center. (2025). About Community Notes on X