FACEBOOK – False News Spotting
Curiosity can kill the cat. Well, fake news on the other hand can destroy trust, businesses and even incite violence. Facebook is the largest social media platform on the planet. With over 2 billion users it has steadily turned into the biggest nest of fake news.
Knowing that, since 2016 Meta, the parent organization owning Facebook and Instagram, is investing millions of dollars in content moderation to stop fake news spread. The program of Meta for Fact Checking plays crucial role in the global combat against misinformation and became available for Bulgaria in March 2021 in partnership with AFP, a fact-checker certified through the International Fact-Finding Network to review and evaluate content authenticity. Based on received signals, Facebook sends to local fact-checker a list of materials that may be misleading or false. It is fact-checker’s duty to decide what to check and execute it, the general rule is to prioritize clear hoaxes and viral misinformation. If a post is found to be fake, it is labelled and overlayed, and it becomes clear to users that this is fake news.
In this context, M3 Communications was tasked to execute an informational campaign targeting media, social media users and the mass audience to communicate Meta`s commitment to fighting misinformation in Bulgaria. Thanks to the strong campaign strategy, M3 team increased immensely the awareness on the fact-checking program and strengthened the overall perception that Facebook protects its users.