From Offensive Search Suggestions to Fake News Report : Today Social Media Marketing News
How do Google and Facebook reply when facing the criticism over the fake news?
What are their approaches and long-term solutions for such criticism?
Google: Dealing with Autocomplete
Autocomplete is a very powerful and useful function for searching. The suggestion comes from people’s search in the past. It is useful when you want to search on mobile devices when typing is difficult.
However, the suggestions are often coming from popular search. The search engine also shows the ugly truth about the society. It can reveal racism, sexism, discrimination, gender inequality or other serious problems.
So how does Google deal with such problem? It is not so clear. Google has fact-checking label within Google News. This function will allow people to see how reliable the new stories are. However, it is not really what people want to see. This function would not penalise or lessen the chance of websites that highly pushes fake news. People suggests that flagging or filtering these sites would be a better solution.
But Google is listening and reacting. It is important for Google to react and to correct these issues. Search is not easy, especially Google is the leading search engine.
Facebook: Introducing Report Fake News Function
How does Facebook react to the fake news issue? Facebook is taking steps to limit the misinformation on the social media platform. Facebook has been testing a new function against false articles. According to Nytimes,
The new measures include partnering with groups that can help fact-check articles. If an article is deemed fake, it will carry a “disputed” designation on Facebook. If people still want to share it, they will see a pop-up that reminds them that the veracity of the information is in question.
So, who are the helpers? According to Techcrunch, Factcheck.org, Politifact, ABC news, and AP will join Facebook and will make fake news posts less visible.
It seems that for a long term, Facebook has confidences to fight the fake news down with this fake news report function. According to Zuckerberg,
Facebook is a new kind of platform different from anything before it. I think of Facebook as a technology company, but I recognize we have a greater responsibility than just building technology that information flows through. While we don’t write the news stories you read and share, we also recognize we’re more than just a distributor of news. We’re a new kind of platform for public discourse — and that means we have a new kind of responsibility to enable people to have the most meaningful conversations, and to build a space where people can be informed.
So, why is the fake news bad? Well, almost 50 percent of U.S. adults receive news from Facebook. The false information can make a big impact on the massive platform. Putting fake news less visible on Facebook is essential to keep the world more accurately informed.
Originally published at Apartment Number 2, Tony Yeung, Toronto Digital Marketing Specialist.
