fact checking
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Twitter is making Birdwatch, its crowd-sourced fact checks, much more prominent
Twitter is expanding its experimental fact-checking program, Birdwatch, and making its crowd-sourced fact checks more visible.
Twitter expands its Birdwatch fact-checking pilot in the US
The changes come just two days after Birdwatch was attacked for its lack of utility in the Washington Post.
Twitter's latest experiment is a tool for reporting 'misleading' tweets
A new test from Twitter will finally allow users to report “misleading” tweets.
Study finds key flaws in Twitter's Birdwatch fact-checking program
The crowdsourced system has partisanship and citation issues, according to a Poynter analysis.
Reuters joins Facebook's fact-checking program
Reuters, one of the world's biggest news agencies, is joining Facebook's third-party fact-checking program. First launched in 2016, the program has tried to curb the spread of disinformation on the social network with help from organizations like the Associated Press, PolitiFact and Factcheck.org. As part of the partnership, Reuters has created a new team dedicated to verifying content that people share through Facebook, with the social media giant paying Reuters for the service.
Facebook and Google are fighting coronavirus misinformation
Google and Facebook are attempting to stay ahead of coronavirus misinformation and to provide users with helpful, accurate resources. Today, Facebook announced plans to flag and remove false information, and Google has created an SOS Alert for coronavirus searches.
Joe Biden says Facebook spreads ‘falsehoods they know to be false’
In an interview with the New York Times, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said the US should immediately repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). The 1996 law is considered one of the cornerstones of the modern internet. It positions tech companies like Facebook and Google that share information online as distributors as opposed to publishers, in effect protecting them from potential libel suits.
Facebook exec says the company should stay the course for elections
In a newly leaked memo published by the New York Times, one of Mark Zuckerberg's closest confidants at Facebook argues the company has a "moral" duty to not tip the scales against President Donald Trump in the upcoming election. The post, titled "Thoughts for 2020," was penned by Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, the head of the company's virtual and augmented reality division. In it, he says Facebook shouldn't use the tools at its disposal against the president, using a scene from the Lord of the Rings to justify his rationale.
Facebook just lost its last fact-checker in the Netherlands
Facebook is all about the fact-checking, except of course when it allows politicians to lie and, you know, affect the course of democracy. That was made clear in the Netherlands, where a newspaper called Nu.nl just quit as Facebook's fact-checking partner in the Netherlands. "What is the point of fighting fake news if you are not allowed to tackle politicians?" NU.nl's editor-in-chief Gert-Jaap Hoekman asked in a blog post. "Let one thing be clear: we stand behind the content of our fact checks."
Snapchat fact-checks political ads where Facebook won't
Snapchat may have another way to compete against rival apps like Instagram: truth in advertising. Snap chief Evan Spiegel told CNBC in an interview that his company has a team that fact-checks all political advertising -- a sharp contrast to Facebook, which has refused to verify the accuracy of political ads so far. The company wants to "create a place" for these ads, Spiegel said, and it's particularly important given Snapchat's young audience. It wants these people to "engage with the political conversation," but it doesn't want false claims to slip into those ads.
The writer of ‘The Social Network’ rails on Zuckerberg in open letter
Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter of The Social Network, has become the latest high-profile individual to criticize Facebook for its policy on political ads. In a new open letter addressed to Mark Zuckerberg and published in The New York Times, Sorkin relates how sensitive Facebook was about the biopic when he wrote it almost 10 years ago.
Facebook rejects Biden's request to remove false Trump attack ad
Facebook has rejected a request by Joe Biden's presidential campaign to pull down or demote a Donald Trump ad it says contains misinformation. The campaign asked the company to take action against an ad which suggests that "Biden promised Ukraine $1 billion dollars if they fired the prosecutor investigating his son's company." In a letter to Biden's camp obtained by The New York Times, Facebook declined to do so.
Facebook’s updated ad policy is letting politicians post misleading ads (updated)
Facebook's updated ad policy is making it easier for politicians to post misleading ads. Nick Clegg, the company's vice president of global affairs and communications (and a former politician) explained the policy last week: "We will not send organic content or ads from politicians to our third-party fact-checking partners for review," he said at the time. "However, when a politician shares previously debunked content including links, videos and photos, we plan to demote that content, display related information from fact-checkers, and reject its inclusion in advertisements."
Facebook makes clear that posts by politicians can break 'normal' rules
Pretty much anything a politician says on Facebook goes, from the company's perspective. It typically won't remove their posts under its content guidelines and it doesn't fact check them. However, it might still limit the spread of political posts that include previously debunked misinformation (say, a climate change-denying video its fact checkers have discredited).
Instagram users can now flag false content
Beginning today, Instagram users can report content that they believe to be false. Instagram will use those flags to better understand misinformation on the platform and to train its AI to spot false content. In time, Instagram will use the feedback, as well as other "signals" -- like how old a post is and the account's previous behavior -- to determine if a post needs to be reviewed by third-party fact checkers. This is slightly different than the pilot program Instagram launched in May, which allows users to flag false content for review by fact checkers. For now, that will remain a pilot.
Facebook fact-checker says more work is needed to curb fake news
Facebook knows its platform is awash with fake news, and since December 2016 -- after facing criticism about its failure to stem the spread of fake news in the run-up to the presidential election -- the company has been working with a number of fact-checking firms in a bid to review and debunk false information on the site. One such firm, UK fact-checking charity Full Fact, has now released a report outlining its work and findings from the first six months of its partnership with the tech giant.
Recommended Reading: The music streaming payday won't go to artists
The record industry expects a windfall. Where will the money go? Marc Hogan, Pitchfork It's no secret the music industry is booming on the back of streaming services. However, it seems like not much will change in terms of where all the money goes. Pitchfork explains that much of the revenue will stay in the "upper echelon" of the industry rather than going to most of the people actually making music. "And yet, just as it's been throughout the history of recorded music, most of the money will not go to artists," Marc Hogan writes.
Facebook fact checkers will soon review Instagram posts
Fake news, conspiracy theories and misinformation aren't just problems for Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. They're also rampant on Instagram. While Instagram has been working to reduce the reach of false posts, starting this week, it will go a step further. Soon, the platform will run potentially false posts past Facebook's fact-checking partners.
YouTube's fact checking linked the Notre Dame fire to 9/11
YouTube's fact check panels were supposed to help debunk conspiracy theories, but they just backfired in an unfortunate fashion. The internet giant has disabled the algorithmically-provided panels on live videos of the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral fire after at least one video displayed a fact panel for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, implying that the coverage was a fake news story about the New York City tragedy.
WhatsApp wants your help with a fake news study in India (updated)
India's elections begin April 11th, and WhatsApp is determined to use every method it can to fight fake news ahead of the voting. The Facebook-owned company has teamed up with Proto to launch a fact-checking project, Checkpoint Tipline, that verifies messages. Relay a message and Proto will determine whether it's real, bogus, misleading or contested. The team can handle images and video, and it supports four regional languages as well as English.
