Searches on Google for how to delete Facebook and Instagram increase after Meta ends data verification.

Since Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, announced the end of the third-party fact-checking system and the relaxation of content moderation policies, there has been a significant increase in searches for how to cancel and delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts in the United States. This shift in policies has been interpreted as a maneuver to adapt to a possible Trump administration and to avoid adverse political reactions. Meta's new guidelines could have serious repercussions on the spread of posts, hate speech, and misinformation, which could now propagate more rapidly on its platforms.

Interest in seeking alternatives to Meta's platforms has grown exponentially, especially in recent days, reaching a peak level of interest on Google Trends with searches like “how to permanently delete Facebook.” Other related queries, such as “how to delete all Facebook photos” or “how to delete an Instagram account without logging in,” have also seen an increase of more than 5,000% compared to previous periods. This phenomenon reflects a clear rejection of Meta's decision to dismantle protections against hate speech and inflammatory political content.

Meta had implemented fact-checking and content moderation policies after facing an increase in misinformation and violence on its platforms, which resulted in real-world harm. An alarming example is the insurrection attempt at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, which was fueled by calls for violence through Facebook and Instagram. Internal documents revealed that the company did not act decisively enough against the Stop the Steal movement, despite having identified ways to reduce political polarization and conspiracy theories.

Meta has acknowledged that its platforms were used to incite violence in Myanmar, where the Burmese military carried out genocide against the Rohingya. In 2021, Zuckerberg stated that the Meta community did not want politics and fighting to dominate their experience on the company’s services, a comment that led to a reduction in political discourse. However, Meta now plans to reintegrate political content into users' feeds.

Zuckerberg argued that these new policies aim to restore free expression on Meta's platforms, echoing claims previously made by Elon Musk on X. Additionally, there are plans to replace third-party fact-checkers with a community rating system where users can flag posts they believe need more context.

Simultaneously, searches related to alternatives to Facebook, such as Bluesky and Mastodon, have also increased significantly—two decentralized social media platforms that have gained popularity following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. This landscape has led Eugen Rochko, CEO of Mastodon, to express concern over the changes in Meta's content moderation, emphasizing that these are a concern for anyone who is aware. He also indicated that users sharing content between Threads and Mastodon will be monitored for hate speech and violations of the latter platform's policies.