What does Facebook ending fact-checking have to do with Telus Digital share price drop?
Telus Digital responded today to a sudden selloff of shares on January 8 with a cryptically worded disavowal of being involved in fact checking for an unnamed social media company.
Shares in Telus International (Cda) Inc. (TSX:TIXT), a spinoff of Telus Corp. (TSX:T), plunged 16 per cent on Jan. 8 – the day after Meta Platforms (Nasdaq:META), owner of Facebook and Instagram, announced it would end third-party fact-checking on its social media platforms.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that the company would end third-party fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram and replace them it with a community notes similar to what X.com (Twitter) now uses.
On Friday, Telus Digital (the rebranded Telus International) issued a press release in response to “trading activity in its subordinate voting shares this week” that appears to disavow any involvement in fact-checking for Meta platforms without ever naming the company.
“Telus Digital is aware of the media coverage widely circulating following the announcement, on January 7, 2025, by a leading social media company modifying its third-party fact-checking practice in the U.S. and the discussion it has generated related to content moderation priorities and practices,” the company stated in its news release.
“Telus Digital does not provide third-party fact-checking services in the U.S. to the company that made this announcement.”
Asked to explain what that might have to do with the recent share sell-off, a spokesperson for Telus Digital wrote in an email to BIV that the company does provide content moderation for “a prominent social media network” and suggested some shareholders might have assumed that includes fact-checking.”
“Our financial and investor materials make clear we provide content moderation services to a number of clients including a prominent social media network,” the spokesperson said.
“Trading activity following the referenced announcement suggests shareholders considered it relevant to our business.”
