又中又英｜Free-for-all

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg\'s decision to end fact-checking in the US has drawn a mixture of applause and criticism. Free speech supporters praised Zuckerberg for allowing free rein except for issues such as terrorism and child sexual abuse on his social media platforms. Supporters of fact-checking condemned him for allowing a free-for-all on his platforms. The expression "free rein" means being able to do or say whatever you want. A free-for-all refers to a debate, fight, or an argument where everyone can join with no rules. Zuckerberg is the CEO of Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp.
 
He has ended fact-checking on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, replacing it with users adding notes on whether something is factual or not. Twitter, now known as X, has already replaced fact-checking with community notes. Supporters of fact-checking have warned that ending it would lead to a flood of misinformation and disinformation. Many people think these two words have the same meaning, but they are very different. Misinformation is the unintentional spread of false information. It is misinformation if your friend forwards you something by WhatsApp without knowing it is inaccurate, and you then forward it to your other WhatsApp contacts.

Disinformation is false information which is intentionally spread to mislead people by deliberately confusing fact and fiction. As a journalist, I always fact-check what I write in my columns. I also fact-checked what I said during my time as a TV host. I don’t use social media platforms except for Signal and WhatsApp, but I hope ending fact-checking on Meta and X platforms will not lead to free-for-all disinformation.

脸书创办人马克‧朱克伯格决定结束在美国的事实查核，惹来毁誉参半的评价。言论自由的支持者称赞朱克伯格，容许他的社交媒体平台除了恐怖主义跟儿童性虐待等议题外，基本上都是畅所欲言（free rein）。事实查核的支持者则是谴责他容许他平台上的人为所欲为（free-for-all）。习语"free rein"是指可以完全自由、无约束地做或说任何你想的事情；a free-for-all则是人人都可自由参加的辩论、激战或争吵，不受限制亦毫无规则。朱克伯格是Meta元宇宙行政总裁，就是坐拥脸书、Instagram、Threads和WhatsApp的公司。

他结束了在脸书、Instagram和Threads上的事实查核，取以代之是由用家附加备注，指出某帖文符合事实与否。现在称为X的推特，亦已经以「社群笔记」取代事实查核。支持事实查核的人警告指，终止它会带来海量的 misinformation和disinformation。许多人以为这两个字的意思一样，但其实它们的意思分别可大了：misinformation是指在无意间发布错误信息。若果你的朋友在不知道某资讯并不准确的情况下，用WhatsApp转发给你，而你又转发给你其他的WhatsApp联络人，那就是 misinformation。

Disinformation则是刻意传播虚假信息，固意误导他人混淆事实与杜撰的事。身为新闻工作者，我总是会事实查核我在专栏中所写的。我以往当电视主持的时候，同样会就自己所说的做事实查核。除了Signal和WhatsApp，其他社交媒体平台我都没有用，但我仍希望Meta和X平台结束事实查核，不会放任（free-for-all）恶意虚假信息（disinformation）的传播吧。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻