The War On Fake News: Facebook Takes Action
Fake news has always been a nuisance, but the war on fake news has entered a new phase as Facebook takes action to combat the spread of false stories.
Two of the most widely known fake news scams include the “Pizzagate” scandal and the false stories claiming the Pope endorsed Donald Trump. The Pizzagate fake news story nearly turned lethal when a Reddit user believed the story and fired into the restaurant the fake news claimed was a pedophilia factory operated by Hillary Clinton and other Democrats.
Fake news clearly is an issue, not just because the misinformation involved can sway people’s opinions, but rather because it can put people directly in harm’s way. The shooter involved in the Pizzagate scandal, while a perpetrator, is also a victim. He did make foolish, dangerous decisions which could have killed people. There is no excuse for that. However, if the fake news story had never occurred, or if it had been squashed, he would not have been motivated to attack the restaurant.
Fortunately, steps are being taken to combat fake news. Facebook is taking several actions to limit the spread of fake news as well as make it easier for users to report and combat the fake news.
According to USA Today, Facebook is taking these steps.
“It [Facebook] plans to make it easier to report a hoax and for fact-checking organizations to flag fake articles. It’s also removing financial incentives for spammers and plans to pay closer attention to other signals, such as which articles Facebook users read but then don’t share. Last month, Facebook barred fake news sites from using its ad-selling services.”
The measures taken have met with some resistance from those who are concerned with the potential for bias and slant to take a role in determining what is or is not considered fake news or labeled “disputed.”
The list of fake news checkers includes Politifact, Factcheck, The Associated Press, The Washington Post, ABC News, and Snopes, according to Fox News.
What all will be entailed with the future of fact-checking on Facebook has not been fully released. There are indications that if a story is labeled as fake news, it will then be buried. Another option is that the story will receive a “disputed” tag or label to give users a warning.
Censorship is a bipartisan concern. As USA Today quotes one Facebook user, “People choose what they want to read and what they don’t want to read, so what gives you the right to decide what people get to read?”
The ACLU has also expressed some concerns.
Facebook responds to pressure to stem fake news with thoughtful, largely pro-speech approach, but questions remain. https://t.co/AvfzheX8Oc
— ACLU (@ACLU) December 16, 2016
This is a legitimate concern. Regardless of how news is presented, regardless of the slant of a story, the first key to controlling perception is not controlling the content of the article itself and the information it presents and how it does that, but rather that key is whether or not anyone can even be influenced by said article. If no one can find and read it, the article will have virtually no impact on anyone.
Despite these concerns, the dangers posed by fake news cannot be discounted. If another shooter is inspired by a fake news article to kill, that is one fake news article too many. Freedom to say what one wishes to say is important, but as PBS records former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes words, “the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.”
Fighting fake news is important. Keeping an eye on the censors is also important. Ultimately, time will tell how effective Facebook’s measures will be and whether other social media platforms will emulate it.
Tell us your thoughts on Facebook’s methods of fighting fake news in the comments section below!
[Featured Image by Carl Court/Getty Images]
