Facebook expands fast checking network adds 5 partners to trace fake news in India

SA TeamFebruary 11, 2019

Technology

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Key Highlights

Facebook adds five new partners including the India Today Group to its third-party fast checking programs.

Facebook is making team to lower position of fake stories related to the 2019 general election campaign.

It revealed if a story is put under false category then it’s distribution is reduced by 80%

Facebook has taken an initiative to enhance its workforce to reduce the spread of false news on its platform. With the general elections, just some far from now in India Facebook has added five new partners including the India Today Group to its third-party fast checking programs targeting to decrease the spread of false news on its platform. Facebook has expanded the program to three new languages.

The new partners added to accelerate this task are Factly, Newsmobile, India Today Group, Fact Crescendo, and Vishwas.news. These new partners will review new stories uploaded on Facebook for facts and rate their accuracy. Its existing partners BOOM Live and APF will also actively participate in this work. Facebook partners will be fast checking stories in six different languages including Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, English, and Marathi.

When a fast checker declares a story as false the social network lowers position of that story in news feed thus reducing its exploration.

According to a statement of Manish Khanduri, News Partnership Head, Facebook India, “We are pleased to announce our new innovative partners comprising of leading traditional media to our fast checking program in India. We are highly against the spread of false news in India especially ahead of the 2019 general election campaign season.”

Social media Unicorn also warned that domains and pages that simultaneously publish and share fake news will have to pay by the cancellation of their ability to advertise monetize and distribute their stories in social media.