Facebook said Wednesday it's adding new tools that could make it easier to combat the spread of misinformation in Groups.
Facebook Groups, which can be public or private, are online spaces where people can chat about various topics including hiking, parenting and cooking. But users have also used Groups to spread misinformation including about the coronavirus, elections and vaccines. False claims and propaganda are still a big problem on Facebook especially after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In some cases, people have used old footage or photoshopped images to misrepresent what's happening in those countries.
One new feature will allow administrators who run Facebook Groups to automatically decline any incoming posts that have been rated false by the company's third-party fact-checkers. The social network said that will help reduce how many people see misinformation.
Facebook didn't say whether posts typically get fact checked before they're shared in a Group. A company spokeswoman said the social network is also working on a new way for administrators to remove posts that are later flagged for containing false claims after they've been posted to a Group.
Facebook partners with more than 80 fact-checking organizations such as PolitiFact, Reuters and The Associated Press to help identify false claims. Users who try to share a fact-checked post see a warning that says it contains false information in the post but can share the content if they want. Facebook doesn't share...
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