Facebook to Fight Fake News

According to a report by The Guardian, Facebook has started implementing its third-party fact checking tool in an attempt to crack down on fake news reports. The tool will alert users about “disputed content” and thus warning them on which story’s accuracy is questionable before the user shares the article.

The fact-checking tool was first spotted by Facebook users in the US who were attempting to share a story which falsely claimed that thousands of Irish people were brought to the United States as slaves.

The implementation of the tool comes after the social media giant announced in December that they were partnering with independent fact checkers in an attempt to crack down on fake news on the platform according to Fortune.

Users identified that the link to the article prompted a pop-up which stated that the facts of the story were disputed by fact checking sites Snopes and The Associated Press.

After the alert is clicked, the pop-up message emerges, stating: “Sometimes people share fake news without knowing it. When independent fact-checkers dispute this content, you may be able to visit their websites to find out why. Only fact-checkers signed up to Poynter’s non-partisan code of principles are shown.”

The feature has not been implemented on a global scale as of yet. It is not the first time that Facebook has trialed a new feature on a small amount of people within a certain area before rolling-out the new tool to all its users.

If the tool proves to be a success it will be a significant blow in the fight against fake news.

Staff Writer