Facebook Introduces New Features To Fight False And Harmful Info

Facebook announced this week that it’s introducing a broad array of updates to fight the spread of false and harmful content on its platform. The social media giant is aiming to “limit the visibility” of links that are shared at a significantly higher clip on Facebook than the rest of the web, as well as expanding its fact-checking programs with third-party experts.

In addition to these changes, Facebook will begin to punish groups that are found to frequently share false content by pushing them lower in users’ News Feeds so fewer people see it. While these are seemingly little steps, Facebook is hoping they add up to a big impact – though even the company’s executives admit they have their work cut out for them.

“There is a tension between enabling expression and discourse and conversation, and ensuring that people are seeing authentic and accurate information,” Facebook’s head of News Feed integrity Tessa Lyons told a group of journalists. “We don’t think that one private company should be making decisions about what information can or cannot be shared online..”

Experts agree with Facebook on one major count – the company has a long way to go before it’s got these issues fully figured out.

“They have bigger problems. I’m sure [these updates] will help sometimes, but there are bigger problems at foot,” Renee Murphy, a security analyst at research firm Forrester, told CNN. “Facebook has a lot more to do.”

Facebook has tried a lot of things over the past several years to combat misinformation and harmful content, and so far, nothing has stuck. Here’s hoping these latest features turn out differently.




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