HiTechEdge

Tag: misinformation

  • Facebook Groups Will Be Able to Assign “Experts” to Combat Misinformation

    Facebook Groups Will Be Able to Assign “Experts” to Combat Misinformation

    Facebook is taking another major step in its battle to combat misinformation, allowing groups to assign “experts.”

    Misinformation has become one of the biggest challenges facing social media platforms. From elections to vaccines to current events, misinformation runs rampant on social media. Facebook, in particular, has faced accusations of not doing enough to combat it.

    The company is adding a major new feature that will allow groups to appoint experts, according to CNET. The experts will have a badge next to their name, which will inform other users of their expertise.

    Facebook hopes having experts in groups will help combat misinformation, providing a bit more accountability within groups, rather than them being a complete free-for-all.

  • Facebook Declares War on People Who Repeatedly Share Misinformation

    Facebook Declares War on People Who Repeatedly Share Misinformation

    Facebook is stepping up its fight against misinformation, including taking action against people who repeatedly share it.

    Social media platforms have become one of the biggest conduits of misinformation about climate change, vaccinations, elections, social issues and more. Facebook has been taking an increasingly tougher stance against misinformation, adding fact checkers, warning labels and other measures.

    The company is now taking action against individuals who repeatedly share misinformation. One part of the company’s strategy is to share more context about pages that spread it.

    “We want to give people more information before they like a Page that has repeatedly shared content that fact-checkers have rated, so you’ll see a pop up if you go to like one of these Pages,” says the company’s blog. “You can also click to learn more, including that fact-checkers said some posts shared by this Page include false information and a link to more information about our fact-checking program. This will help people make an informed decision about whether they want to follow the Page.

    Individuals who continue to share information may face additional penalties. Facebook previously would reduce a single post’s distribution in News Feed if it contained misinformation. Starting today, however, Facebook will reduce the distribution of all of an individual’s posts, if they repeatedly share misinformation.

    The company is also improving the notifications a person receives when they attempt to share misinformation, including the fact-checking article that debunks the post.

    It remains to be seen if the changes will have the desired effect. One thing is certain, however: Facebook has declared war on misinformation and the people who share it.

    It’s likely this will be a non-issue soon based on news about Facebook’s AI development.