Facebook is experiencing a new feature showing alternate sources before reading an article, and it may be one of the best efforts we have ever seen to combat fake news.
The new feature will work with a small addition to 'Related Articles' which first appeared in 2013. The Related Articles or Related Articles displays related content after you've read an article in an effort to get you to read and share more news on Facebook. Today's test will show links to other articles before you even click on anything.
Facebook does not specifically mention that it is trying to fight the fake news in this way, but its direction is clear:
These additional articles, which appear when they talk a lot about them on Facebook, will appear with an add-on under the link. This should provide easier access to additional information, including articles proposed by third parties.
It's a little change, but it could work. Previous attempts to fight fake news have made it point to false stories (which took too much time to do) and to training Facebook members to be able to detect obvious false news.
By appearance of additional links before you click on an article, Facebook is able to ensure that:
- That you really know that there are different perspectives before you are affected by the posts you see.
- That you will see more articles from trusted sources.
- That Facebook doesn't have to wait for a third-party reviewer (which can take days) to detect and remove a fake news.
Basically, Facebook seems to be trying a more sensible approach this time around dealing with fake news and balancing bias by simply adding a big red "fake news" tag. This way, users will be able to determine what is fake on their own.
Of course, it is up to the users to find and read the opinions listed and there may be some who don't want to. At least the biggest social network seems to absolve himself of all responsibility. Perhaps the new feature still has a long way to go, but it's worth repeating that it appears to be a step in the right direction.
