Facebook uses local fact-checkers
One of the first claims Facebook fact-checked on the ground in New Zealand was the conspiracy about 5G and coronavirus. Katie Kenny reports.
Facebook says it has factcheckers in Australia and New Zealand, helping fight coronavirus-related misinformation.
Last month, Facebook contracted the Australian Associated Press’ fact-checking division to help review New Zealand and Pacific content. The expansionwas planned to boost efforts in the leadup to New Zealand’s general election.
The social network partners with 60 fact-checking organisations that review and rate content in more than 50 languages around the world, a spokesperson said.
While it’s unclear whether New Zealand’s election will go ahead on the planned date of September 19, the fact-checkers are keeping busy with Covid-19-related content.
Facingwithering criticism from governments around theworld, social media sites, including Facebook, have introduced stricter rules in an attempt to curb harmful or false claims about the virus.
While fact-checkers all over the world work on contentnew Zealanders see on Facebook, the benefit of having people on the ground is they’re focused on local issues, the spokesperson said.
One of the first claims factchecked innew Zealand was a conspiracy theory implying 5G cellular networks caused the coronavirus.
The theory received millions of views on Youtube and led to a rash of attacks on cellular towers overseas and in New Zealand.
Not only have scientists identified the virus responsible for Covid-19, there is no evidence that the technology causes any harm.
When asked about the theory by reporters, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she didn’t want to warrant it with an answer, but decided to send a clear and direct message to all New Zealanders.
‘‘That is not true. I can’t state it clearly enough. It is just not true.’’
Once a piece of content was rated false by fact-checkers, Facebook said it reduced its distribution and flagged it with warning labels showing more context. Detection methods were able to identify duplicates of debunked stories.
Last month, Facebook displayed warnings on about 40 million posts relating to Covid-19 on its site.
‘‘When people saw those warning labels, 95 per cent of the time they did not go on to view the original content,’’ Guy Rosen, Facebook’s vice-president of integrity, wrote in a blog post.
Content that violated the organisation’s policies, such as content created by fake accounts or that promoted physical harm, was removed. Since early March, the social network has been rolling out prompts on Facebook and Instagram to connect Kiwis with official information sources.
It has also been providing ‘‘campaign support’’, including credits for free advertising, for official government campaigns to unite against Covid-19.
A temporary ban on exploitative advertisements for items such as hand sanitiser, Covid-19 testing kits and face masks has been extended, the spokesperson confirmed.
Social media sites, including Facebook, have introduced stricter rules in an attempt to curb harmful or false claims about the virus.