Another small step for Facebook in its giant leap to fight fake news
Facebook's growing dedication to fighting fake news added another element on Thursday, in the form of a new tool that will try to help users identify misleading information.
The new feature will sit at the top of the News Feed and offer tips on how to identify information that is now known widely as "fake news."
"When people click on this educational tool at the top of their News Feed, they will see more information and resources in the Facebook Help Center, including tips on how to spot false news, such as checking the URL of the site, investigating the source and looking for other reports on the topic," wrote Adam Mosseri, vice president of News Feed at Facebook, in a blog post.
The new tool, developed in conjunction with online information nonprofit First Draft, will roll out in users' News Feeds in 14 countries over the next few days.
After spending years maintaining that Facebook wanted to be an open platform with few rules in terms of what kind of content could be shared, the social network and cofounder Mark Zuckerberg abruptly changed course following the 2016 election.
Though you can still go ahead and post that link from Gateway Pundit, Facebook is now going to do its best to make sure you know that it's garbage and probably limit how much it spreads. In just the past few months, Facebook has launched it's own "Journalism Project," joined a "News Integrity Initiative," tools to tag fake news, and tweaks to its News Feed.
"Stopping the spread of false news is an important part of building an informed community. We know our community wants accurate information. We've got more work to do, but this is another important step," Zuckberg wrote in a Facebook post about the new tool.
Topics Facebook
Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
