Facebook in drive against fake news
Tech Reporter
Facebook is rolling out an on-platform campaign across a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa to connect people to accurate news sources and combat misinformation.
The campaign, called ‘Three Questions to Help Stamp out False News’, aims to inform users about how to detect potential false news, created in consultation with third-party fact-checking partners.
On the platform users will see a series of advertisements featuring a link to a dedicated website, www.stampoutfalsenews.com, which asks users to challenge the information they see on posts by asking themselves the following: Where’s it from? If there’s no source, search for one; What’s missing? Get the whole story, not just the headline; and How does it make you feel? People who make false news try to manipulate feelings.
This campaign comes on the heels of last month’s context notification update, which lets people know when the news articles they are about to share are older than 90 days, providing greater visibility and context to help make informed decisions about what to share.
Facebook’s public policy manager – programs and campaigns, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Aïda Ndiaye says: “We know misinformation is an on-going challenge, which is why we have invested heavily in addressing misinformation in general, and more recently around Covid-19. This campaign is another step in taking our responsibility of improving accuracy and quality of information on Facebook seriously. We remain committed to working with industry experts and the community on our platforms, to tackle misinformation and empower people with resources that help them decide what to read, share and trust.”