Fake news is a real concern on social media these days, and Facebook wants to put an end to it. How? Well, by educating users on how to spot fake news, or, as Facebook calls it, “false news.”
Beginning on April 7, Facebook users in as many as 14 countries will start seeing a link from Facebook on “Tips for spotting false news.” Clicking on that link will bring users to a list of 10 tips on how to better spot fake news, as well as a host of other related resources in the Facebook Help Center.
“News Feed is a place for authentic communication,” said Facebook in a blog post. “Improving news literacy is a global priority, and we need to do our part to help people understand how to make decisions about which sources to trust.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Facebook try and make a stand against the spread of false news. The company recently announced that it had partnered with third-party fact-checking organizations like First Draft to help identify false news links, which are then flagged in the News Feed.
Social media is playing in increasingly important role in the spread of news, and many argue that the spread of fake news on Facebook played a role in the U.S. election. Whether that’s true or not, the fact is that Mark Zuckerberg and his associates feel somewhat responsible for informing the masses, and spreading false information does hinder that.
“False news and hoaxes are harmful to our community and make the world less informed. All of us have a responsibility to curb the spread of false news,” continued the blog post.
It will be interesting to see how the social media platform and other platforms continue to try to shape the kind of news that is spread online.
