When Facebook’s new fact-checking systems labeled a Newport Buzz article as possible “fake news”, warning users against sharing it, something unexpected happened. Traffics to the story skyrocketed, according to Christian Winthrop, editors of the local Rhode Island websites.
“A bunch of conservative group grabbed this and said, ‘Hey they are trying to silence this blog – share, share share,’” said Winthrop, who published the story that falsely claimed that hundred of thousands of Irish peoples 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.”
Articles formally debunked by Facebook’s fact-checking partner – including the Associated Press, Snopes, ABC News and PolitiFact – frequently remains on the site without the “disputed” tag warning users about the contents. And when fake news stories do get branded as potentially false, the label often comes after the stories has already gone viral and the damage has been done. Even in those case, it’s unclear to what extent the flag actually limit the spread of propaganda.
Last year, Facebook faced growing criticism that it may have helped Donald Trump get elected by allowing fake elections news to outperform real news and creating filter bubbles that facilitated the increasing polarization of voter. In response, Facebook announced that it would works to stop misinformation in part by letting users report fake news article, which independent fact-checking groups could then reviews.
When two or more fact-checkers debunk an articles, it is supposed to get a “disputed” tag that warns users before they share the pieces and is attached to the article in news feeds, a feature rolled out in March.
While some of the fact-checking group said the collaboration has been a productive step in the right direction, a reviews of content suggests that the labor going into the checks may have little consequence.
“It’s had absolutely no effect. I’m happy about that,” said Shooltz, who consider his work satire, such as the Onion.com, and does not believe it should be targeted by Facebook fact-checking.
A Facebook spokespersons said the fact-checking tags were just one tool in its ongoing effort, which include taking action against fake accounts, disrupting financial incentive of fake news creators and launching an educational tools.
“We take seriously the issue of fighting false news and are utilizing all-of-the-above approaches. There’s no silver bullet solution, which is why we’ve deployed a diverse, concerted and strategic plans.”
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