Social media giant Facebook steps up its fight against fake news and the sites that spread them. According to a Facebook news release, they want to make sure that people get as much accurate information as possible. The company also announced the steps it will take to make sure this happens.
In March this year, Facebook made available tools such as the disputed news flag so that its community of users can help identify possible fake news. Now, the company is targeting the economics behind the false news.
Facebook To Ban Pages And Sites From Advertising
According to the news release, most of the false information peddled online has a financial motive behind it. Hoax news and stories usually lead users to sites that sell or advertise products. In order to curb its spread, Facebook will target Pages that repeatedly share such news, identify the sites behind them and stop these sites from advertising on the platform.
Given that Facebook ads are considered to be an effective marketing tool these days, taking away the opportunity to purchase these ads is expected to be a big blow to purveyors of fake news.
Fake News And Spam Accounts Detection And Many More
Facebook also continues to build up its defense against fake and spam accounts on the platform. Because the company relies heavily on reports from its community of users, it is also working on improving the flagging and reporting process. Once a post is flagged, this goes to Facebook’s partners, third-party groups who do the fact-checking and verification.
Raising Awareness About Fake News And What To Do About It
Through several initiatives in collaboration with reputable news organizations and institutions, Facebook will also be sharing public service announcements that show people how to evaluate and choose the information they find online, and how to identify hoaxes.