Facebook is throwing away "disputed flags," one of its several attempts to curb the spread of fake news across the social network. 。
SEE ALSO:Facebook doesn't scan Messenger for fake news. But it definitely should。About a year ago, Facebook launched the feature, where red flag icons were put next to articles that were identified to be false by a team of independent fact-checking organizations.。
But according to Facebook's research, the effort didn't help much. Facebook's team identified four reasons that disputed flags were not an ideal strategy, as shared in a blog post on Medium.。
Buried critical information 。 Buried critical information 。
a.k.a. required too many clicks。Could sometimes backfire 。
because strong language or visuals can reinforce ideas。 Required at least two fact-checkers 。
so was a slow process to be applied 。Only worked for false ratings。
so stories that were partly false or unproven were not marked。
Thanks for signing up! 。 What the disputed flag tool looked likeCredit: facebook。"They have a big problem, and they are leaning on other organizations to clean up after them," one journalist working with Facebook told。
The Guardian 。
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Going forward, Facebook will be focused on related articles, links of stories from reputable news sources. These will appear before a user even click-throughs to a website with the hope of showing accurate information and providing more context beyond just one headline. 。
Related articles lead to fewer shares than disputed flags attached to fake news stories, according to Facebook's researchers. 。
Of course, this could all change in the future. Facebook is constantly updating how it displays stories on News Feed. 。