Misinformation regarding coronavirus and especially treatment for the virus is going wide on social media, especially Facebook, despite the top social media platforms efforts to curb fake news. Now, Facebook has decided to do more than a warning and here are the latest measures taken by the social media giant to tackle those spreading fake news.
Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday announced that those who have shared fake news will see tailor-made warnings that will force them to see the factual information. Facebook has partnered with fact-checking parties including Agence France-Presse that has a special section dedicated as 'AFP Fact Check.' Currently, AFP and Facebook are working in collaboration to beat spreading of fake news in more than 30 countries and are publishing fact-checked articles in 12 languages.
Facebook is working against fake news
Facebook is taking these measures seriously when it was found that most people who even saw the warning messages regarding fake news did not bother to click on the original content. Thus along with forced warnings, Facebook will also have a new feature called "Get The Facts," that will have coronavirus articles on Facebook written by fact-checking partners.
In a statement Zuckerberg said, "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."
Arrangements have been made for the messages to pop up in the relevant language for users who have previously clicked on or shared virus disinformation. Facebook's fact-checking messages will also have a mention of authoritative sources like the World Health Organisation, aiming at making the people click on the article.
Facebook slaps 'Fake news' posts
Going beyond a warning, Facebook has already slapped 40 million 'fake news' posts in March alone. Explaining the success rate of its efforts to deal with fact-checked copies, Facebook stated that along with Instagram more than 350 million out of two billion users had clicked to check the fact-checked articles through the dedicated coronavirus information centre following its launch in March. Currently, Facebook has banned advertisements promising coronavirus treatments or cures on its platform.
Checking conspiracy theories a challenge
However, conspiracy theories about vaccines and origin of the virus are still making rounds and the tech giant is putting in more efforts to stop spreading of this kind of misinformation.
