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Facebook Launches New Alert to Fight Fake News Articles

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

Facebook has begun utilizing a third-party fact checking tool to warn users attempting to post web pages with “disputed content.” The company hopes this alert will assist in the battle against fake news.

Partnering with verified third-party sources such as Snopes or the Associated Press, attempts to post stories that have been fact-checked and concluded wrong will prompt a red alert stating the article has been disputed. Clicking on that warning will bring up a pop-up window with more information “About disputed content.”

“Sometimes people share fake news without knowing it. When independent fact-checkers dispute this content, you may be able to visit their websites to find out why,” the alert reads. “Only fact-checkers signed up to Poynter’s non-partisan code of principles are shown.”

The Poynter code encourages a high standard of excellence in transparent fact-checking and non-partisanship for journalists.

Users ignoring the warning and posting fake news articles will receive a second pop-up stating the article has been disputed. The user may still post the story, although it will appear on others’ timelines with the warning such as “Disputed by Snopes.com and Associated Press.”

Facebook’s fake news alert will be implemented with the help of five independent fact-checking resources: ABC News, Associated Press, FactCheck.org, Polifact and Snopes.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, admitted his site should be held to a higher standard in the fight against fake news than the average person.

“We’re a new kind of platform for public discourse – and that means we have a new kind of responsibility to enable people to have the most meaningful conversations, and to build a space where people can be informed,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post on his own Facebook page.