Facebook expands fact checker program
Facebook strengthens its fact checker program in the DACH region with Agence France-Presse (AFP). Already part of the fact checker program since 2017, the news agency now also checks content from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Globally, Facebook works with more than 70 independent fact-checkers covering over 50 languages - including news agencies, media companies and nonprofit organizations. In Germany, AFP is the third partner to check questionable news, images and videos on Facebook and Instagram for their truthfulness and, in case of doubt, add a warning. The cooperation with dpa has been in place since March 2019, and the research agency Correctiv has been checking false news on Facebook since January 2017. In May 2020, Facebook also extended its cooperation with dpa to Austria and Switzerland. For the German-speaking region, AFP is setting up its own fact-checking team with local and multilingual journalists in Berlin.
Stemming the spread of misinformation
Working with independent, external fact-checkers is a key focus of Facebook's three-step "Remove, Reduce, Inform" strategy to combat false news. As soon as a post is classified as false by a fact checker, the post is marked with a corresponding label and its reach on Facebook and Instagram is restricted. In addition, users are shown reliable information on the topic.
From April to June alone, false positives warnings were displayed on about 98 million posts on Facebook related to Covid-19, based on about 7,500 fact-checkers' ratings. Based on the warnings, users ultimately did not view the originally selected content in about 95 percent of the cases.
