Meta Platforms’ unexpected overhaul of its “free speech” content moderation system has raised concerns among advertisers. They believe it could lead to a surge in harmful content and misinformation on the platform, and no one wants to place their ads next to such content. This will ultimately hurt the platform’s ad revenue.
This is what the Financial Times reports, citing major advertisers who believe that Meta’s decision to end its fact-checking program and relax moderation of user-published posts could be costly for the social network, which relies heavily on advertising. Brands are wary of having their ads appear next to toxic content.
“Some brands are already carefully evaluating their plans, and this will undoubtedly be a commercial challenge for both sides,” says Fergus McCallum, head of advertising agency TBWA\MCR.
Facebook’s dramatic loosening of controls over online content is part of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s bid to court the support of US President-elect Donald Trump and one of his top allies, Elon Musk. It took Zuckerberg just days to replace Meta’s head of global policy and bring Trump friend Dana White to the company’s board. Meta also announced late last week that it was ending its diversity, equity and inclusion program, with Zuckerberg recently arguing that corporations have become “culturally neutered” and need more “male energy” and “more reward for aggression.”
But the company’s move away from professional fact-checkers in favor of X’s approach—where users can flag fake posts themselves—has raised concerns in the advertising industry. Meta has long been a leader in the online advertising space alongside Google, building a reputation as a relatively safe partner that can deliver high returns to advertisers and has strong relationships with big brands. Unlike Meta, Musk’s X has seen advertisers leave because of content moderation issues, which has led to a decline in the company’s revenue.
“Meta has done a great job of eliminating the worst forms of toxic content, and if their new policy reverses that, advertisers will quickly notice and punish them,” says Richard Exon, founder of the ad agency Joint.
Lou Paskalis, chief executive of marketing consultancy AJL Advisory and former head of media relations at Bank of America, said Meta’s content moderation policy change “will create barriers for risk-averse marketers.” He added it could lead to some advertisers reducing their reliance on Meta.
Advertising executives said the news of Meta’s policy change made them “nervous” and wanted more information from the company about how Zuckerberg’s announcement would be implemented. “Brands are entering a new world where they can’t rely on the same old rules,” said Patrick Reid, chief executive of creative ad agency Imagination.
Advertisers have also raised concerns about Meta’s plans to adjust its moderation algorithms to “dramatically reduce” the amount of content that gets automatically filtered out. This includes lifting restrictions on posts on topics such as migration and gender. Instead, the company wants to focus its efforts on finding more serious violations, including those related to fraud, terrorism, suicide, and more. At the same time, Zuckerberg admitted that the company’s systems will now catch “less bad stuff.”
However, not all advertisers are so sure that the easing of censorship on Meta platforms will seriously harm the company’s business, notes NIXSOLUTIONS. “The cold, hard truth is that advertisers will only care if it hurts their metrics. If metrics remain stable, no one will be bothered by ‘where’ and ‘how’ their ads are shown,” said Alex Cheeseman, head of the UK division of Outbrain.
Internal Reactions and Future Outlook
At CES 2025, Meta’s head of marketing Alex Shultz said that advertiser safety tools aren’t going anywhere, and the company is taking its time to implement the new policy to give advertisers “time to adapt.” Meta business group head Nicola Mendelson wrote in a recent LinkedIn post that Meta will continue to invest in advertiser safety tools.
According to the source, the news of the policy change has divided Meta employees. Some saw the loosening of censorship as a rejection of important protections, but were “afraid to speak out” for fear of getting fired. However, most employees were positive about the policy change, especially since fact-checking is considered a “thankless” task “because one side or the other will inevitably accuse you of taking sides.” People who know Zuckerberg personally say the Meta CEO has long been a supporter of free speech, but he is accustomed to changing his position depending on political and public pressure.
We’ll keep you updated as these changes roll out and as advertisers continue to assess their next steps. In the meantime, Meta’s shift toward a more relaxed content moderation approach will likely remain a hot topic in the industry, with both advertisers and Meta’s own teams watching carefully to see how any loosened rules impact brand safety, platform reputation, and user engagement.