We know that people want to see accurate information on Facebook – and so do we. We also know that misinformation and false news are harmful to our community and make the world less informed. That’s why we are working hard to fight the spread of false news on Facebook.
We wanted to take the opportunity to share more information about Facebook’s third- party fact-checking program in the Philippines and why it is a part of our ongoing efforts to combat the spread of false news and improve the accuracy of information on Facebook.
At Facebook, we want to work with as many organisations as possible. We welcome other partners in the Philippines to become certified under Poynter’s International Fact Checking Network and to join Facebook’s fact-checking program. This has always been our approach, including when we launched the initiative in the Philippines on 12 April 2018.
We believe that feedback from the community is also extremely important in our effort to combat false news. This is why we started to work with independent third-party fact-checkers to help us review stories identified as false or inaccurate and reduce their distribution on Facebook.
How fact-checking works
- News stories flagged on Facebook will be reviewed by our partners, who have been certified through Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. These fact-checkers will review the story, check the facts, and rate the accuracy of the story.
- Fact-checkers cannot remove any content from Facebook, even if it is determined to be false. Stories rated false will be placed lower in people’s News Feed and people will see more information below the story. This additional information will give people more context as to why the story, or some details within the story are inaccurate.
- Pages that repeatedly share false news will see their distribution reduced and their ability to monetize and advertise removed.
- We have learned that once a story is rated as false, we have been able to reduce its distribution by 80%, and thereby improve accuracy of information on Facebook and reduce misinformation.
Poynter’s International Fact Checking Code of Principles
- As part of the fact-checking initiative, Facebook partners with organizations that are signatories of Poynter’s International Fact Checking Code of Principles.
- Poynter is internationally recognized as the leading convener, teacher and community-builder for fact-checkers around the world. A list of Poynter approved third-party fact-checkers is available here.
Third-party fact-checking is just one part of this holistic approach. We’re also committed to keeping our community in the Philippines informed by giving them the knowledge and skills they need to build a positive and respectful community online.
- You’ll receive notifications if you try to share a story or have shared one in the past that’s been determined by third-party fact-checkers to be false. Page admins will also be notified if they share stories rated as false.
- People can also provide feedback directly to Facebook when they see something that may be false news.
- Recently, we provided people with tips to spot false news as part of our effort to help build an informed community in the Philippines.
All of us have a responsibility to curb the spread of false news, which is why we are open to feedback from the community and collaborating with organizations – academics, media companies, educational organizations – around the world to help tackle this challenging issue.
Further resources:
To learn more about certification, and the process to be an approved fact-checker, please visit: Poynter’s International Fact Checking Process.
Note: Distributed on Tuesday, 24 April 2018 in The Philippines.