Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Facebook Launches Educational Tool to Fight Fake News Menace

Read MoreHide Full Article

Facebook Inc has unveiled an educational tool to help users spot fake news. Designed in collaboration with a nonprofit organization, First Draft, it will appear at the top of news feed for a few days in 14 selected countries, including Germany, France, Indonesia, Taiwan and Brazil, per reports.  

By clicking on the tool, users will be directed to Facebook Help center which will now have more information and resources to help them identify fake news.

In a blog post, Facebook VP Adam Mosseri said, “News Feed is a place for authentic communication. Improving news literacy is a global priority, and we need to do our part to help people understand how to make decisions about which sources to trust. False news runs counter to our mission to connect people with the stories they find meaningful. We will continue working on this and we know we have more work to do.”

Facebook, Inc. Price

Last year, Facebook suffered a heavy blow when it was accused of suppressing conservative news and doing little regarding the spread of fake news on its platform. Fake news dissemination on the popular social platform has been widely regarded as the primary reason for the surprise victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. Presidential elections. Apart from Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) have also been accused of spreading fake stories, resulting in the surprising elections outcome.

After rejecting the allegations initially, Facebook chief, Mark Zuckerberg changed his stance on the matter. In an extensive blog post on Nov 19, Zuckerberg said that Facebook is taking misinformation “seriously” but added that the “percentage of misinformation is relatively small.” So far, the initiatives taken up by the company include improvement of technical systems to develop more efficient detection of false stories. It is also working to help its 1.79 billion users report fake stories.

Apart from availing the help of third parties for better verification of news and the option of “labeling stories” that are flagged, the company had earlier declared that it is “raising the bar for stories that appear in related articles under links in News Feed.” Facebook said it will also scrutinize ads that promote bogus stories for monetary gains. Lastly, it added that it will work with the entire news industry to improve its fact checking systems.

The company has also appointed ex-CNN anchor Campbell Brown as the head of its News Partnerships Team.

Zacks Rank & Stock Pick

At present, Facebook has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).  In the past one year, the company’s shares have generated a return of 24.16%, compared with the Zacks Internet Services industry’s gain of 7.26%.

A better-ranked stock in the wider technology space is Tech Data Corporation , which sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the trailing four quarters, Tech Data has yielded a positive average earnings surprise of 8.73%.

Zacks’ Best Private Investment Ideas

While we are happy to share many articles like this on the website, our best recommendations and most in-depth research are not available to the public.

Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time. Our experts cover all kinds of trades… from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Click here for Zacks' private trades >>


Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)


Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.


Click Here, It's Really Free

Published in