Facebook has had to deal with a lot of criticism for failing to prevent the mass spread of misinformation and fake news on its platform during the 2016 presidential elections in the United States. It has since released new features that are aimed at preventing the spread of fake news on Facebook and fact-checking is one of those features. It’s now going to start fact-checking news in more markets.
Facebook has announced a pilot fact-checking program India which is now the largest market yet where the company has tested this feature. English language stories flagged on Facebook will be fact-checked by Boom, a resource that’s certified through the International Fact-Checking Network.
Accuracy ratings will then be provided for the stories after they have been fact-checked. The pilot program is first rolling out in the Indian state of Karnataka where important elections are going to take place next month.
“We are beginning small and know it is important to learn from this test and listen to our community as we continue to update ways for people to understand what might be false news in their News Feed,” the company said in a statement.
This isn’t the first international fact-checking initiative by the company, though. The feature has already been rolled out in the United States, France, Italy, Netherlands, Indonesia, and the Phillippines.
Filed in . Read more about Facebook. Source: newsroom.fb