GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Rollbacks on social media fact-checking and moderation safeguards are reopening the floodgates of hate, the United Nations (UN) chief warned Monday, saying the poisonous atmosphere would lead to free speech shrinking.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said people would become increasingly fearful to engage on social media.

“As fast-moving technologies expand into every aspect of our lives, I am deeply concerned about human rights being undermined,” he told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Guterres said at best, social media was a meeting ground for people to exchange ideas in respectful debate, but at worst, it could be an arena for combat and “blatant ignorance”.

“A place where the poisons of misinformation, disinformation, racism, misogyny and hate speech are not only tolerated — but often encouraged.”

He said verbal attacks could easily become physical violence.

“Recent rollbacks on social media fact-checking and content moderation are re-opening the floodgates to more hate, more threats and more violence.

“Make no mistake. These rollbacks will lead to less free speech, not more, as people become increasingly fearful to engage on these platforms.”

Last month, Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg ended the company’s United States (US) fact-checking programme that aimed to combat misinformation on its platforms. The programme had faced criticism from conservatives who viewed it as censorship.

Under the new system, users will be able to add context to posts, similar to features on X, formerly Twitter, and championed by Elon Musk, the platform’s owner.

Meta has also scaled back its diversity initiatives and relaxed content moderation rules on Facebook and Instagram, particularly regarding certain forms of hostile speech.

AFP currently works in 26 languages with Facebook’s fact-checking scheme.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said human rights were being “shunned, vilified and distorted” in some social media quarters.

“Digital technologies are widely misused to suppress, limit and violate our rights through surveillance, online hatred, harmful disinformation, harassment and built-in discrimination,” he said.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) was expanding the threats, he added.

“The splintering of social media platforms into self-selecting channels that cater to their audience contributes to the isolation of individuals, the atomisation of societies, and the loss of a shared public space,” Turk warned.

Guterres said the great promise of AI was matched by “limitless peril” to undermine human autonomy, identity and control. He called for human rights to be placed at the centre of AI-driven systems.