Mastodon CEO Criticizes Meta's Moderation Changes & Threads Cross-Posting

Meta's Moderation Shift and Mastodon's Response

Eugen Rochko, the CEO of Mastodon, has publicly addressed the substantial changes to content moderation practices recently announced by Meta. These alterations involve the discontinuation of fact-checking services across Meta’s platforms. Instead, a crowdsourced community notes system, mirroring that of X (formerly Twitter), will be implemented.

Concerns Regarding Meta's New Approach

Rochko characterized Meta’s decision as “deeply troubling” and expressed it as “a concern to anyone with a conscience.” He specifically cautioned Threads users who utilize the platform’s fediverse-sharing functionality to post to Mastodon. Mastodon will actively enforce its policies against hate speech and any Threads accounts that contravene existing guidelines.

Impact on the Mastodon Network

Following Meta’s announcement of relaxed content moderation, particularly concerning its potential impact on LGBTQ communities and other vulnerable groups, numerous Mastodon users sought clarification regarding the implications for the decentralized social network. This was due to Mastodon’s existing connection with Threads.

Threads' Fediverse Integration

In June of the previous year, Meta extended its fediverse-sharing feature to all Threads users. This followed initial beta testing in several countries, including the U.S., Canada, and Japan. The feature allows Threads users to publish their content directly onto Mastodon, thereby expanding their potential reach.

Image Credits:Mastodon (screenshot)

Previous Positive Views on Threads' Federation

Rochko had previously highlighted the benefits of Threads’ federation, stating that it enhanced the appeal of Mastodon as a platform. He also viewed Meta’s adoption of the ActivityPub protocol – the foundation of Mastodon and other federated servers – as a validation of the decentralized social media movement.

Divisions Within the Fediverse

However, the integration of Mastodon and Threads isn't universally accepted within the broader fediverse. Many smaller Mastodon servers actively block Threads, preventing interaction between their users and those on the Meta platform. Conversely, Meta also blocks numerous Mastodon servers, citing violations of Community Standards and other moderation concerns.

Clarification of Mastodon's Stance

Previously, it remained uncertain how Mastodon would react to Meta’s revised policies. Questions arose regarding whether larger Mastodon instances, such as mastodon.social, would initiate action against Threads accounts.

Enforcement of Mastodon Policies

Rochko’s recent statement confirms the organization’s awareness of the potential moderation challenges posed by Threads integration. He explicitly stated, “Hate speech is prohibited, and we will take action on any Threads account found violating our policies.”

Call to Action for Disagreeing Threads Users

Furthermore, Rochko encouraged Threads users who object to Meta’s new direction to consider migrating to Mastodon. However, he acknowledged that this transition isn’t as straightforward as moving between different Mastodon servers, as Threads is not yet fully integrated with the fediverse in that manner.