As Facebook continues to shrug off criticism over its handling of user data, the platform is forging ahead with its efforts at addressing fake news. Facebook confirmed it had begun fact-checking photos and videos on the platform since Wednesday.
However, it’s not yet general, the company said. Fact-checking images and videos is done only in France at the moment.
In partnership with French media company, AFP, Facebook will review the truthfulness behind millions of media contents from French users.
Facebook did not disclose the criteria for evaluating media content. Neither did it share how it would confirm that media contents were edited or faked. Speaking to reporters, a Facebook product manager, Tessa Lyons, said the company’s effort is to “fight false news around elections.”
Facebook will add more partners and expand the evaluation to more countries overtime, Lyons said.
Facebook’s Long Battle with Fake News
This is the latest tactic from Facebook to tackle fake news. In January, Zuckerberg announced that the platform would begin to evaluate news stories for their trustworthiness. The platform also began allowing its users to choose what news stories were true, and which ones were fake.
Facebook had earlier relied on third-party fact-checkers to assess the accuracy of viral stories. Unfortunately, they could only assess links to articles. This means that it was easier for fake news to still spread using media contents. Fake texts and photo-shopped images had thus become another route to share fake news.
Hopefully, incorporating images and videos into the fact-checking mix will go a long way in tackling the fake news menace.
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