For many, Meta’s decision to end third-party fact-checking will seem a convenient about-face, appeasing Elon Musk and demonstrating fealty to incoming President Donald Trump. And certainly, with any new administration, some jockeying and strategic manoeuvring is to be expected.

But for anyone who has been following Meta’s evolution – the tech sector’s interminable tussles over free speech and content moderation – as well as the broader cultural rethink in boardrooms across a range of US sectors, this change is far from unexpected.