Modern problems require modern solutions. Facebook, in its war against fake news and misinformation, has now come up with a new solution to alert users about fake news. The tech company has merged tech and human review together to alert users about fake news in videos, images or posts shared on the platform.

The role of third-party fact-checkers

The tech company is working with third-party fact-checkers to identify and review misinformation.

In December 2016, Facebook began a fact-checking programme which now has over 24 partners in 14 countries. In India, some of the third-party fact-checkers include big names like India Today Group, Vishvas.news, Fact Crescendo, BoomLive, and Factly. The Indian government announced the release of an online portal last month to curb fake news on social media platforms.

Facebook harnesses user feedback in addition to third party fact-checkers to identify fake news. A post which has even a little link to false information will automatically be down-ranked by an algorithm. The platform will curtail the reach of accounts or pages for repeat offenders and limit their ability to promote content.

Fake news alerts notifying users posting fake content

Facebook said that it would notify page admins and users when they have shared posts that are suspected to contain false content or misinformation.

It also said it would mark stories as fake news, stating clearly that the primary claims in the post are factually inaccurate.