Over the past few weeks, you have most likely heard or read about the allegations that Facebook and Google are sharing and promoting fake news stories. Most of us were left to wonder how are we supposed to figure out what news stories are real and which are fake?
After much criticism, the search engine and social network spoke about their plan towards dealing with fake news stories. In our last blog post, we shared Google’s steps to dealing with the crisis. Today, we will inform you on Facebook’s plan of action for tackling fake news stories.
- Improved technical systems. Currently, Facebook enables any user to report links they think are false. They use the information to understand what stories can be construed as untrue information. After receiving the report that a link is spreading false news, they treat the content the same way they would spam and scam posts so that it is less likely to spread. Mark Zuckerberg stated in a Facebook post that they are going to start utilizing improved technical systems to spot false news links, before people flag it themselves.
- Easier to report false news. Another advancement that Facebook is going to be making is creating an easier process for people to report fake news.
- Utilize the help of third-party fact-checkers. Facebook has utilized the assistance of third-party fact-checkers, however, they are vowing to learn from others as well.
- Warning labels. Facebook is experimenting with showcasing a warning label for content that has been marked as false by other users.
- Higher standard of articles. The social network stated they are going to be instilling a higher standard for stories that show up in the related articles section.
Are you curious about the changing world of social media and search engine optimization? Kraus Marketing specializes in digital marketing, SEO, and social media. We help companies in the tri-state area create and implement successful digital marketing campaigns. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.