The move is in a bid to quell and expel fake news from Facebook’s network, and prevent the backlash the company faced in light of Donald Trump’s US Presidential win in late 2016. Many believe that fake news on the social network aided Trump in his campaign and during the elections.
To prevent a similar story in France, the network has announced that it will partner with eight of the country’s media outlets, including the likes of the AFP, BFM, and Le Monde, who will ensure stories on its platform are indeed factual.
False stories will be flagged as such if at least two media companies declare that information within the story isn’t wholly accurate, according to Le Monde. Users can also report stories themselves.
Effectively, these outlets, and the public, will be Facebook’s watchdogs.
It’s not clear if these media outlets will keep their role post-elections, or if this is a temporary measure by Facebook.
The social giant, and its founder Mark Zuckerberg, had previously come under pressure from the public regarding fake news on its platform, which Zuckerberg had brushed off. The company’s recent moves now suggest that it acknowledges that hoax reporting is a larger issue on its platform.
The company had also earlier this year announced it will implement fake news filtering and reporting tools in Germany, just prior to its elections too.
“After France, Facebook plans to continue the deployment in other countries,” Le Monde also confirmed.
