Biden rails against Meta’s fact-checking change, suggests it’s un-American: ‘Really shameful’ 

President Biden slammed Meta on Friday for ending its third-party fact-checking program, arguing that the change goes against American values and is “shameful.” 

“The whole idea of walking away from facts checking [sic] as well as not reporting anything having to do with, uh, um, discrimination regarding TPS I find to be just contrary to American justice,” Biden said in response to a reporter’s question about Meta’s recent policy shift.

It’s unclear what the 82-year-old president was referring to when he suggested Meta was not reporting discrimination “regarding TPS,” an acronym for the Temporary Protected Status program offered to foreign nationals from certain countries. 

Biden made the remarks during a rare Q&A with reporters at the White House Friday.

The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment. 

“Telling the truth matters,” Biden continued.  

“I don’t know what that’s all about,” he added. “It’s just completely contrary to everything America’s about.” 

Earlier this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company will replace third-party fact-checking with a community-driven model similar to rival platform X’s Community Notes.

Zuckerberg said the change, which will affect Facebook, Instagram and Threads, is aimed at “restoring free expression” and “reducing mistakes” his company has made trying to fact-check posts. 

“We want to tell the truth. We haven’t always done it as a nation but we want to tell the truth,” Biden continued during the rare Q&A session. 

Biden argued that Meta’s fact-checking program change is “completely contrary to everything America’s about.” Getty Images
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier this week that his company would get rid of third-party fact-checkers. AFP via Getty Images

The president fumed that “a billionaire can buy something and say, ‘By the way, from this point on, we’re not going to, we’re not going to fact check anything.’”

Zuckerberg, 40, did not buy Meta, he originally founded the company as Facebook in 2004.

“When you have millions of people reading, going online, reading this stuff, it is — anyway, I think it’s, I think it’s really shameful,” Biden concluded. 

Meta did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment. 

In an interview released just hours before the president’s remarks, Zuckerberg slammed the Biden administration on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast for pushing Meta to censor content related to COVID-19 vaccines. 

The Meta boss claimed Biden officials phoned executives at the company to “scream” and “curse” at them while demanding that they remove any negative posts about the coronavirus vaccine on Facebook. 

“It was brutal,” Zuckerberg said of the ordeal, arguing that “the US government should be defending its companies, not be at the tip of the spear attacking its companies.”