How Facebook Plans To Step Up Its Effort To Combat Fake News Facebook is planning to have community reviewers to fact check content posted on the platform

By Shreya Ganguly

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

siam sompunya | Shutterstock

At a time when social media companies have been facing global heat for lack of proper data management system and spread of misinformation, Mark Zuckerberg-owned Facebook has been trying to ramp up its efforts for combating fake news. Now, the social media giant is planning to have community reviewers to fact check content being posted on the platform.

According to the official statement, these community reviewers will work as researchers to find information to contradict online hoaxes or corroborate other claims. The reviewers will not be Facebook employees but will be hired on contract through Facebook partners.

Currently, the process is under pilot in the US. According to Facebook, combining the expertise of third-party fact-checkers with community-based reviewers will help them evaluate misinformation faster and remove such content.

For this initiative, Facebook partnered with global public opinion and data company, YouGov, who conducted an independent study of community reviewers and Facebook users.

How Will It Work

  • Machine learning model will identify potential misinformation using a variety of signals including comments on the post that express disbelief or if a post is being shared by Pages who had spread misinformation in the past.

  • The content will be sent to a diverse group of community reviewers if a post is indicated to have misinformation.

  • The community reviewers will be then asked to identify the main claim in the post. They will research and try to find other sources that either support or refute that claim.

  • Fact-checking partners will then be able to see a collective assessment of community reviewers as a signal in selecting which stories to review and rate.

Facebook's Efforts In India

Last month, Facebook announced a slew of India-focused initiatives to accelerate digital literacy efforts in the country:

  • Partnership with the Ministry of Women and Child Development: Facebook has partnered with MWCD to build digital literacy to safeguard women and children by raising awareness about online privacy, safety and security. Under this:

  1. Facebook launched #CreateCareConnect comic series to educate young users about online safety in a simple, fun and engaging way;

  2. In 2020, Facebook plans to launch another Thumbstoppers campaign - a series of short creative mobile videos under 10 seconds from India's advertising community which will focus on empowering and educating people on issues like gender equality, domestic violence and education for the girl child.

  • Formation of Ideal Internet Consortium: Led by the Aarambh India Initiative, Ideal Internet Consortium is a working group of child safety practitioners who will use real field experience and research to deliberate over safety issues and propose recommendations for civil society, industry and government. The consortium has seven focus group discussions with young people from cities across Odisha, Tripura, Jharkhand and Kerala. The findings will help to create strategies focused on keeping young users safe online.

  • Launch of We Think Digital: Facebook announced the launch of We Think Digital, a global digital literacy program under which it will partner with agencies from both government and civil society. The program will use learning modules designed to teach people skills, including the ability to think critically about what they see online, how to communicate respectfully and engage in digital discourse.

Shreya Ganguly

Former Features Writer

Business News

OpenAI's Partnership With Legendary iPhone Designer Jony Ive Has Already Hit a Snag: 'We Don't Agree With the Complaint'

OpenAI has removed the news of its partnership with Jony Ive from its website and social media.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Side Hustle

At Age 23, He Started a Side Hustle While on Welfare. It Led to a 7-Figure Business and a Stay on Richard Branson's Private Island.

Josh Turner launched a side project after he was fired — and it led to a lucrative business that gives back.

Business News

LinkedIn's AI Writing Tool Isn't as 'Popular' as the CEO Thought It Would Be. Here's Why He Thinks Users Are Shunning It.

LinkedIn's AI writing tool polishes posts for users, but the company's CEO says not many users are tapping into it.

News and Trends

Zerodha's Kamath Brothers Invest INR 250 Cr in InCred Ahead of IPO

InCred operates through three entities—InCred Finance, InCred Capital, and InCred Money.

Starting a Business

3 Truths Every Founder Learns the Hard Way

There's no manual for entrepreneurship — and your mom's advice, while well-meaning, didn't cover the realities of building a business.