Social media companies like Facebook and Twitter did previously announce that they have implemented a variety of measures to combat fake news. This includes slapping warning labels, adding links to verified and reputable sources, and so on, but how much of this actually helps or works?That’s something that EU wants to know because they have since suggested that social media companies like Facebook and Twitter should provide monthly reports on how they are fighting against fake news.
According to the European Commission’s Vice President for values and transparency Vera Jourova who spoke about the impact of fake news, “It really showed that disinformation does not only harm the health of our democracies, it also harms the health of our citizens. It can negatively impact the economy and undermine the response of the public authorities and therefore weaken the health measures.”
Right now, it seems that this is more of a suggestion rather than a mandate, so whether or not Facebook or Twitter chooses to comply with this is entirely up to them. We suppose it’s not necessarily a bad thing though, because by offering up a bit more transparency, the efforts put in by these companies could be aided through external and more objective feedback.
Filed in . Read more about Facebook and Twitter. Source: reuters