Facebook launches resources to help spot fake news
Facebook wants to help stop the problem of fake news on its social media networking service by offering what it says are better educational tools for users to spot articles that don't pass the smell test.
Starting Friday, Facebook Inc. is rolling out “news literacy resources” it made in partnership with MediaSmarts that will educate people on how to better scrutinize articles they come across. In addition to the educational tools, which will sit at the top of people's News Feeds in 15 countries for a few days, there will also be a digital guide users can read with more details on what fake news looks like.
“False news isn't a new problem, and it's not unique to Facebook, but it's up to all of us to fight it,” Facebook said in a statement.
The company added that it is focusing on three key areas with the new resources: disrupting economic incentives, building new products to stop the spread and helping people make more informed decisions.
When users click on the educational tool in their News Feed, they'll be taken to an area of Facebook's Help Center that includes tips on spotting fake news, checking website URLs, investigating the source and seeking out other reports on the topic.
The digital guide Facebook created with MediaSmarts will be available in English and French and is a four-page, so-called “tip sheet” on spotting fake news.
The problem of false news has been plaguing social media and networking platforms for months now, including Twitter, Facebook and even Google's search results. The U.S. presidential campaign helped bring the problem to light, as articles with false information were being highlighted as featured articles by way of algorithms due to their popularity.
All companies have pledged to crack down on the spread of fake news since then, with Facebook already testing fact-checking features in some countries that will label articles as false news thanks to a partnership with Snopes.com.
Adam Mosseri, vice-president of News Feed at Facebook, said he hopes people will become “more discerning consumers” of news.
“Facebook was always very interested technology but not the social and civic implications of technology. It's like they have become citizens,” said Lucy Dalglish, journalism dean at the University of Maryland.