The Know Daily - Monday 13 January 2025

_{Read in 4m 45s ∙ Listening to Mel Robbins ∙}

✨ Welcome to your first edition of 2025! We’re so excited to be back. You may notice this has come a bit later than normal – we’re shifting the send time to 12pm GMT. The change will give us more time in the morning to get you the most up-to-date news (as well as give us a break from 7am daily news shifts!). Cheers to a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2025. ✨

Airlines will be required to have “safe and dignified” assistance for people with disabilities, in a new rule issued by The US Department of Transportation. Employees and contractors who physically assist passengers must receive hands-on training by June 2026.

📱 Meta rollback

Meta will end its fact-checking programme, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last week.

Tell me more.
Over the next couple of months, beginning in the US, Meta will start phasing out its fact-checking system in favour of community-style notes created by individual users – similar to Elon Musk’s X. The changes will affect Facebook, Instagram and Threads, which combined have around 4bn users worldwide. 

The decision comes as a “significant reversal” of Meta’s handling of misinformation, according to CNN. Meta first launched its fact-checking system in 2016, following criticism that it failed to curb the spread of disinformation during the US presidential election. It worked with over 90 organisations that would fact-check in more than 60 languages.

What does this change mean?
Zuckerberg said the move will lead to more harmful content on platforms. Meta will continue to moderate content on high severity topics such as drugs and terrorism, but other concerns will have to be reported by users before the company evaluates them. Users will also be able to opt in for more political content on their feeds, in place of their blanket rule from 2021 to reduce posts about elections, politics or social issues. 

He pointed to the recent US presidential election as a major factor. Zuckerberg dubbed it a “cultural tipping point” that highlighted the importance of free speech, and that fact checkers have been “too politically biased”. Plus, the systems currently in place were making too many mistakes, leading to non-violating content being removed, he added.

What has the reaction been like?
Some critics have called the changes “political pandering” and see it as an attempt to curry favour with incoming President Trump, who has criticised Meta previously for censoring right-wing voices. Media experts have said ending the fact-checking program will help to boost the false narrative that the practice is politically biased. However, those in favour have praised the decision as a sign of emphasis on free speech, rather than content policing.  

💰 Money Monday: The 31 January deadline for self-assessment tax returns is coming up. Here are some helpful resources to check out: government guidance, how the process works and the info you’ll need to fill out returns.

🏥 Supervised injections: The UK’s first legal drug consumption room opened today.

📷 Sporty shots: The World Sports Photography Awards winners have been revealed – check out the action-packed images here.

🩲 Bare legs: The annual No Trousers Tube Ride event returned to London this weekend.

🪙 Coin commemoration: The Royal Mint has announced author George Orwell will be honoured on a new £2 coin.

🐈 Functional feline: This Japanese start-up has developed an adorable cat-shaped robot to cool down hot beverages.

🛂 Visa free: These countries hold the most powerful passports for 2025.

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Trivia answer: C) 15.5m Brits are planning to go alcohol-free this month, according to research from charity Alcohol Change UK.

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