Facebook promised to tackle fake news. But the evidence shows it's not working

Following pressure from users, the social network introduced tools to stem the spread of false information. But the rollout has been rocky at bestWhen Facebook’s new fact-checking system labeled a Newport Buzz article as possible “fake news”, warning users against sharing it, something unexpected happened. Traffic to the story skyrocketed, according to Christian Winthrop, editor of the local Rhode Island website.“A bunch of conservative groups grabbed this and said, ‘Hey, they are trying to silence this blog – share, share share,’” said Winthrop, who published the story that falsely claimed hundreds of thousands of Irish people were brought to the US as slaves. “With Facebook trying to throttle it and say, ‘Don’t share it,’ it actually had the opposite effect.” Related: Bursting the Facebook bubble: we asked voters on the left and right to swap feeds These stories are like flash grenades. If you’re three days late on a fact check, you already missed the boat Related: Facebook announces steps against fake news during general election Related: Defining fake news will help us expose it | Paul Chadwick Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #fake news #opposite effect #fact check

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Facebook promised to tackle fake news. But the evidence shows it's not working'


Google, Facebook will not place ads on sites distributing fake news

Google plans to update its AdSense program policies to prevent placement of its ads on sites distributing fake news.Facebook also said Monday it had updated the policy for its Audience Network, which places ads on websites and mobile apps, to explicitly clarify that it applies to fake news.“In... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2016-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #display ads #audience network #fake news


Facebook Is Working on a Twitter-Like App That Lets Publishers Send Mobile Breaking News Alerts to the Masses

Facebook is working on a stand-alone mobile news application that seems to be part of its Facebook for Business initiative.   This product, which sounds similar to Twitter, seems to be different from Facebook for Work, an initiative that wa ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #business initiative


UsVsTh3m's demise shows challenge of making news for Facebook

As news organisations sign up to publish straight to Facebook with Instant Articles, Trinity Mirror’s decision to cull new formats teams shows how social media is changing publishers’ priorities Asked what are my favourite pieces of digital journalism to emerge from newsrooms over the past few... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital journalism #coming back #parliamentary debate #entry point #bbc news #guardian sign


What Does Facebook’s New Tool for Fighting Fake News Mean for Real Publishers?

Facebook announced yet another tweak to the algorithm that governs its users’ News Feeds yesterday. The social network has introduced a new tool that allows users to flag a post as “a false news story.” The move follows ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook announced


Facebook, With a Focus on Mobile, Works on Project for News Via Users

Facebook Inc. FB -3.51% is aiming to become a newspaper for mobile devices. The social network has been quietly working on a service, internally called Reader, that displays content from Facebook users and publishers in a new visual format tail ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mobile devices


Truth Itself Becomes Suspicious: On Rob Brotherton’s “Bad News: Why We Fall for Fake News”

IN 1889, the science fiction writer Jules Verne and his son, Michel, envisioned that, in a thousand years, there would be a personally curated newsfeed. What’s really remarkable about that futuristic prediction, says author Rob Brotherton in his new book, Bad News: Why We Fall for Fake News, is... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-09-05 17:00:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction


News Corp is apparently working on a news app called 'Knewz'

News Corp wants to give people an alternative to Google News and Apple News. The media company that owns Dow Jones Newswires and HarperCollins is working on its own news aggregation service, reported The Wall Street Journal. The service will be calle... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-08-22 21:14:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #give people #google news #apple news #media company #harpercollins


Facebook in 2015: Pivot to video! Facebook today: Local news is dead!

Facebook paints a bleak picture for the media industry, while ignoring its own role in publishing’s demise. Benevolent Doctor Facebook today gave the country a very grave diagnosis via a blog post. The company has found that–wait for it–local news is dying. In fact, Facebook says that about... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #local news #media industry #simply don #big problem #good doctor


Forget fake news: How in-feed native ads can spread positive news

For Facebook and publishers of the open web alike, the feed is considered sacred ground for users, delivering a direct stream of content and in-feed ads. But just like any powerful tool placed in the wrong hands, this type of advertising can become a weapon to spread false news or influence with... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2018-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #powerful tool


Publishers are wrestling with Facebook’s desire to own Facebook-funded Watch shows

Facebook wants to own more of the shows it subsidizes for Facebook Watch, but publishers are not always willing to give those rights away. The post Publishers are wrestling with Facebook’s desire to own Facebook-funded Watch shows appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2018-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook watch #post publishers


Digiday Research poll: Apple News dominates publisher focus after Facebook’s news feed changes

Digiday's online poll of publisher executives found that they believe Apple News should be their priority following Facebook's algorithm change. The post Digiday Research poll: Apple News dominates publisher focus after Facebook’s news feed changes appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2018-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online poll #apple news #algorithm change


Facebook always wins: Data shows publishers are buying far more Facebook traffic

Even with publishers grousing about Facebook's shortcomings as a source of revenue and organic traffic, publishers are putting a lot more resources into dark posts, according to Keywee data. The post Facebook always wins: Data shows publishers are buying far more Facebook traffic appeared first... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook traffic #post facebook


Forget 'fake news': Adam Curtis' film says we live in a 'fake world' designed by bankers and politicians

A sinister world rises from the soothing, if mischievous, voice of Adam Curtis: politicians and financiers have created alternate realities that prey on our fears while Facebook and other cyberspace distractions toy with our vanities with promises of escape and virtual redemption. At a time when... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fake news


Facebook’s Latest News Feed Change Sounds Like Bad News for Publishers

The modified algorithm will place higher value on posts by friends, family, and colleagues — at the expense of media brands. The post Facebook’s Latest News Feed Change Sounds Like Bad News for Publishers appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2016-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post facebook #publishers appeared #bad news #media brands


Facebook's News Feed Update Isn't Good News For Publishers—But It May Be For You

Would you rather get your news directly from publishers or from your Facebook friends?If you've been feeling like Facebook is clogging up your News Feed with too many dispiriting news stories and not enough cute baby pictures, this one's for you: The social network is tweaking its algorithm yet... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2016-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news directly #similar change


Crain's 20 In Their 20s showed promise at a young age. They're living up to the hype

Brad Weekes was 25 years old and working as a senior associate at public affairs firm Kivvit when Crain's named him to the 2020 class of 20 In Their 20s. The East New York native's goal at the time: Pressure lawmakers to make positive changes.In many ways, Weekes was already doing just that. At... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2024-03-06 20:37:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #premier league #dig deeper #book deal


Meta is killing the Facebook News tab in the US and Australia

In early April, the Facebook News tab will start disappearing for users in the US and Australia. Meta has announced that it's deprecating the dedicated tab found in the bookmarks section of its social network as part of its efforts to "align [its] investments to [its] products and services... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-03-01 08:27:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #australian competition #$200 million #total amount #huge impact #news corp


Poetry sales boom as Instagram and Facebook take work to new audiences

Writing and reading poems is no longer a minority pastime as verse overlaps with self-help genre and classics are revisitedIt was only last year that the Scottish poet Donna Ashworth was given a publishing contract. Now the 48-year-old has ended 2023 with five of her books in the Top 20 poetry... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-12-24 12:00:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hardback books #publishing contract #hardback


RMIT’s fact check reinstated by Facebook two months after suspension over News Corp voice complaints

Exclusive: Meta suspended RMIT FactLab from Facebook’s fact-checking program after no campaigners claimed it was biasedFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastFacebook has agreed to reinstate RMIT FactLab to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-08 02:03:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #free morning #latest updatesget #free app #guardian australia #news corp


U.S. Book Show 2023: Jacqueline Woodson Works from Memory and Empathy

At a lunch-hour keynote on May 24, National Book Award winner and former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Jacqueline Woodson sat down with bookseller Miwa Messer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #national ambassador #bookseller #national book award