Advertisers say Meta's content-moderation changes make them uneasy. They won't stop spending.

Meta's Content Moderation Policy Changes - Meta plans to replace third-party fact-checkers with a community-based fact-checking program, addressing criticism of partisanship and overcorrection in the previous system [3] - Meta will loosen content moderation restrictions on topics considered "part of mainstream discourse" and reintroduce political content to users' feeds [3] - The company emphasized preventing censorship of speech in its announcement, with no direct mention of brand safety concerns [3] Advertiser Reactions and Concerns - Some advertisers worry about Meta's commitment to brand safety, particularly around hate speech and adult nudity [4][7] - Advertisers are cautious about publicly criticizing platforms or threatening to pull spending due to political sensitivities [9] - Advertisers have outstanding questions about Meta's new thresholds for removing posts and the roadmap for monitoring misinformation trends [11] Industry Perspectives on Meta's Strategy - Industry analysts believe many marketers will continue spending on Meta as long as it delivers expected audiences and ad performance [9] - Meta commands about 21% of the US digital ad market, second only to Google [9] - Some advertising executives support Meta's announcement, viewing it as a step toward boosting engagement and free speech [15][16] Comparison with X's Community Notes - Advertisers are closely watching how Meta's Community Notes-like feature will perform, given mixed results with X's implementation [12][14] - Studies show X's Community Notes may be too slow to counter misinformation during its most viral stages but have been effective in specific cases like Covid vaccine misinformation [14] - Meta's approach is seen as an evolution of brand-safety standards rather than a retreat from protecting users and marketers [16][17]