Facebook alert on fake news, uses print for advisory

Not too long ago, Mark Zuckerberg had dismissed reports of ‘fake news’ on Facebook by saying that it would constitute a fraction of the content on the platform. But on Monday, Facebook ironically launched an advertisement campaign in British newspapers to alert Facebook users about fake news.

Earlier, Facebook had issued similar advertisements in Germany and France. The social media platform has admitted for the first time that it had taken out thousands of fake Facebook accounts in the United Kingdom (UK) alone.

While the campaign comes in the wake of allegations that ‘fake news’ on social media influenced Donald Trump’s election in the US and the referendum on ‘Brexit’, Facebook has not yet acknowledged the role of fake news on Facebook influencing electoral outcomes in India, or in other countries.

The Facebook campaign also comes ahead of the snap poll in England, a month from now, and the election in Germany later this year.

Facebook is calling upon users to watch out for fake news and listed 10 precautions that users can take:

1. Headlines of fake news are often catchy, sensational and outlandish, with lots of exclamation marks. Such headlines should arouse suspicion.
2. Fake news stories often make small changes to the uniform resource locator (URL) to fox readers into believing that the web addresses are genuine and credible. A separate search for the URL will expose the ploy.
3. If the source of the ‘news’ is from a site that readers may not have heard about, alarm bells should start ringing.
4. Fake news are often sloppy and full of errors, spelling mistakes, awkward layouts, etc.
5. Check for photographs taken out of context, manipulated images, etc. An internet search of the image is recommended.
6. Fake news often come with altered dates and timelines.
7. Look for evidence to substantiate claims and names of experts quoted. Unnamed and unattributed information may often be fake.
8. Cross-check if other news sources have also reported or posted it. If they have not, chances are high that the post is fake.
9. Sometimes, parody accounts and satires are taken seriously.
10. Share only those articles which are credible and which you have checked first.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that a Facebook spokesman confirmed that the social media platform had hired the services of third party fact-checkers, also in a bid to stem the tide of fake news. It is already watching out for repeated postings of the same content and sharp increase in messaging, the spokesman said.

The advertisement campaign in the UK came hours before a BBC investigation was to be aired on Monday. The BBC programme was about the role and effect of the social network in the US presidential election and the Brexit referendum.