It’s been hard to miss the social platform drama of late. Elon Musk’s meddling is reaching new heights, and now Mark Zuckerberg has announced his recent decision to remove third-party fact-checking from Meta and replace it with a crowd-sourced correction system known as ‘Community Notes’. While this move has been framed as a commitment to Meta’s free speech roots, you cannot ignore that this move will potentially just exacerbate the spread of misinformation that was so prevalent throughout 2024 and caused some real-world problems. I believe that this is going to cause significant challenges for the financial services sector due to accuracy and trust being paramount to financial institutions.
As financial marketers, we’re once again going to have to navigate the new landscape of social media, a tool that is so helpful in educating our audiences. I’ve previously spoken about the issues surrounding ‘finfluencers’, and I have a real concern that Zuckerberg’s move is giving way to another potential rise of unregulated financial advice flooding socials. Our response should be one that is strategic and proactive, and I want to share how I think we can address the impact on our sector.
Understanding Meta’s Policy Shift
As I’ve just touched upon, Meta’s decision to end third-party fact-checking aims to reduce platform censorship and errors, replacing the system with a ‘Community Notes’ model. This new policy has been inspired by Musk’s approach to X (formerly Twitter) and relies on user-generated corrections that provide context for misleading content. This might sound democratic, but I believe this opens up a whole new can of worms; especially in such a complex and highly regulated industry like financial services. For this concept to work effectively, there needs to be a robust oversight process and with financial topics, I think there is simply not the people-power to police what’s being posted effectively.
So, what does this mean for financial marketing? Well, crucially there is now an essentially unregulated platform where unqualified individuals are able to share unregulated financial information. This presents huge risks in itself because they have a place to promote high-risk investment strategies where people who don’t know better can lose a lot of money, scams and poor financial ‘advice’ to name but a few potentially harmful financial decisions. Just last May, ‘finfluencer’ Emmanuel Nwanze was charged with running an unauthorised investment scheme and issuing unauthorised financial promotions. As you can see from this recent example, the financial services sector is already a breeding ground for misinformation, exasperated by apps like TikTok and younger people's desire for more financial freedom. As marketers, we now face an even steeper uphill battle to protect consumers.
As Gordon Pennycook, an associate professor of psychology who studies misinformation, aptly notes, “In an information ecosystem where misinformation is having a large influence, crowdsourced fact-checking will simply reflect the mistaken beliefs of the majority. I support using crowdsourced fact-checking, but removing third-party (professional) fact-checking strikes me as a major mistake.” This highlights the core challenge of relying solely on user-driven systems: the lack of robust oversight and expertise required to identify and correct misinformation in real time.
The Potential Threat
In a landscape where Finfluencers have exploded in popularity, amassing millions of followers on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook by sharing investment tips, savings strategies, cryptocurrency advice and more without any proper credentials or adherence to regulatory standards. Meta’s new system relies on users to add notes to posts, poor advice is less likely to be flagged or scrutinised, and I think we are going to face three core issues in the financial services sector:
- Misinformed Decisions: Consumers may act on advice that is inaccurate, or unsuitable for their circumstances, leading to financial losses.
- Fraudulent Schemes: Scams, particularly those involving cryptocurrency and "get-rich-quick" schemes, can spread unchecked, targeting vulnerable individuals.
- Reputational Risks for Legitimate Firms: Brands may find their ads or content appearing alongside dubious financial posts, eroding trust.
Arguably, the line between opportunity and risk has thinned and whilst social media offers a valuable way to connect with our audiences we must now be even more vigilant and ensure we comply with regulations to ensure content credibility and consumer trust. In a sector governed by transparency and accountability, as marketers we must double down on our commitment to clear, accurate, and compliant financial messaging.
How We’ll Be Adapting Our Social Strategies
To maintain trust through our clients' financial content, we’ll be taking a multifaceted approach to our content through:
- Prioritising Educational Content: It’s no secret that consumers, especially young people, are turning to social media for financial guidance. We’re prioritising creating accessible, fact-based content to position our clients as trusted authorities in their space.
- Emphasising Transparency: We’re ensuring that our content comes straight from the experts, such as interviews with in-house experts or leaders in their field.
- Monitor and Report Misinformation: A large proportion of my social media work requires me to look at a lot of financial content. We’ll be developing an internal system that ensures we flag any harmful content in our sector. Flagging misleading posts to platforms can help mitigate risks.
- Community Engagement: We need to ensure our clients actively engage with their audiences to do things like address concerns, answer questions and debunk myths and misinformation.
Final Thoughts
Meta’s policy shift underscores the importance of a forward-thinking approach to digital marketing in financial services. While the absence of fact-checking is a step back, evidenced by the sorry state of X, it also presents an opportunity for ethical, well-prepared brands to stand out by prioritising transparency, education, and consumer protection.
The financial services sector has always been rooted in trust and in this new, unregulated digital landscape, maintaining that trust requires a commitment to integrity and adaptability. By addressing the challenges posed by Meta’s decision head-on, we financial marketers can continue to thrive, even in a space that feels increasingly uncertain.
