Media News Daily: Top Stories for 03/29/2026

IFCN Director Urges Meta to Reinstate Fact-Checking After Oversight Board Warning

Angie Drobnic Holan, director of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), responded to a March 26 advisory from Meta’s Oversight Board regarding the company’s “community notes” system, which replaced third-party fact-checking in the U.S. in 2025. Holan emphasized that community notes alone are insufficient to combat misinformation and highlighted the continued importance of professional fact-checkers. She pointed to data showing only 900 community notes were published in six months in the U.S., compared to 35 million labeled posts in the EU using professional fact-checkers. Holan urged Meta to adopt a hybrid model that combines crowdsourced notes with expert verification, warning that community notes can be manipulated, especially in politically sensitive or high-risk environments like the United States ahead of elections. (Read More) (Poynter Rating)

Jury Finds Elon Musk Liable for Misleading Twitter Shareholders

A California jury found that Elon Musk misled investors during his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, manipulating the company’s stock price through public statements about fake accounts on the platform. The jury determined Musk’s comments were intended to depress share prices by as much as $8 to $3 per share, prompting investors to sell at a loss. As a result, Musk could be required to pay up to $2.6 billion in damages to affected shareholders. The case centers on Musk’s claims that spam accounts made up a far larger share of Twitter’s user base than publicly represented, arguments he used while attempting to exit the acquisition. His legal team has said it will appeal the ruling. (Read More) (Mediapost Rating)

Meta Found Liable in New Mexico Child Safety Case

Meta was found liable in a New Mexico lawsuit over child safety failures on its platforms, with a jury awarding $375 million in damages. The case followed a 2023 investigation by Attorney General Raúl Torrez, whose office used undercover accounts posing as minors. Investigators said Meta’s platforms exposed underage users to sexually explicit content and enabled predatory adults to contact and pressure minors for explicit material. The lawsuit argued that Meta knowingly maintained platform features that contributed to addiction and mental health harms among young users. Meta has rejected the verdict and said it will appeal, while maintaining that it continues to invest heavily in teen safety measures. (Read More) (The Hill Rating)