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Some big news on the fake news front. As you know, we beefed up our coverage of fake news to help readers better sort out fact from fiction on their social media feeds.
Now, we’re teaming up with Facebook to continue and hopefully grow that mission.
Facebook today announced a series of changes to combat the proliferation of fake news. As part of that effort, which you can read more about here, PolitiFact has agreed to help fact-check suspicious claims that are being shared on the social media platform.
In short, Facebook is making it easier to report a hoax while also making it easier for independent fact-checkers such as PolitiFact to dispute the story.
Initially, Facebook is working with a small group of third-party fact-checkers that are part of Poynter's International Fact Checking Network. (PolitiFact is a member as part of the Tampa Bay Times, which is owned by Poynter.)
If enough people on Facebook report a story as fake, fact checkers including PolitiFact can identify a story as fake, and then the original post will get flagged as disputed, and there will be a link to our article explaining why.
According to Facebook, stories that have been disputed will also appear lower in users’ news feeds.
Our fact-checking process won’t change, and our work will be just as rigorous as it has always been. You can read about how we fact-check a claim here. Facebook will surface stories people are reporting as fake, but Facebook won’t have a say in what rating we issue.
We at PolitiFact remain committed to helping fight back against fake news and are excited to be a part of this next important step. If you have any suggestions or feedback, feel free to reach out at [email protected].
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