The spreading of fake & misinformation has been spread widely since the outbreak of COVID-19. And Facebook has announced an update to combat the spread of fake news & disinformation as the spreading of fake news is fast and more easily today through social media. And it tends to misinform people, cause confusion and fear to the public.
"False news is harmful to our community, it makes the world less informed, and it erodes trust." - Statement from Facebook
Facebook will add anti-misinformation posts to News Feed if the user liked fake news regarding COVID-19, this is to ensure users can get accurate information and keep harmful misinformation about COVID-19 from spreading on Facebook.
Once the content is rated false by fact-checkers, Facebook will reduce the spreading on Facebook News-feed and will show a warning label with more context. During the month of March, Facebook has identified about 40 million posts related to COVID-19 and has removed the misinformation that could lead to harm. For example, the fake news regarding the drinking bleach can cure the COVID-19 virus has been removed.
"We will also soon begin showing messages in News Feed to people who previously engaged with harmful misinformation related to COVID-19 that we’ve since removed, connecting them with accurate information." - Announcement from Mark Zuckerberg
The section will show it to people who have liked, reacted, or comments on the fake misinformation on Facebook that Facebook later removed, encouraging them to visit the World Health Organization’s site.
"We're also launching a new feature called Get The Facts, a section of our COVID-19 Information Center featuring articles written by independent fact-checking partners debunking misinformation about the coronavirus. (This feature is now available in the US)" -Announcement on Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook
Source: Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook
Facebook has collaborated with over 60 fact-checking organizations that review and rate content in more than 50 languages around the world. For example, Facebook added MyGoPen in Taiwan, the AFP and DPA in the Netherlands, Reuters in the UK, and others. And Facebook will continue the source for more partners to expand the coverage to more countries.
Source:
Facebook | Combating COVID-19 Misinformation Across Our Apps
