The real-world consequences of climate misinformation are multifold — and they’re about to get worse. That is the dark prediction experts are making following Meta’s announcement that the tech giant will no longer use fact-checkers to moderate content on its platforms,

Meta announced this week it was ending third-party fact-checking and moving towards community notes. Some experts fear it could lead to a rise in health misinformation.

This decision marks a significant shift in how the social media giant addresses misinformation on its platforms. Meta’s official rationale for ending its independent factchecking in favour of crowdsourced contributions centres on promoting free expression.