How to label something Fake News on Facebook and have the fact-checkers take a look
Have you seen the “Disputed News” flag on Facebook articles yet? If not, you will soon. It hasn’t rolled out to everyone yet, but Facebook now has a way for you to report Fake News.
To mark a news story as fake:
1. Click next to the post you’d like to mark as fake
2. Click Report post
3. Click It’s a fake news story
4. Click Mark this post as fake news
What happens when a story is reported as fake?
News stories that are reported as fake by people on Facebook may be reviewed by independent third-party fact-checkers. The fact checkers are made up by a number of agencies Facebook has partnered with that subscribe to Poynter Institute (a non-profit media ethics organization) principles for fact-checking:
1. A COMMITMENT TO NONPARTISANSHIP AND FAIRNESS
We fact-check claims using the same standard for every fact check. We do not concentrate our fact-checking on any one side. We follow the same process for every fact check and let the evidence dictate our conclusions. We do not advocate or take policy positions on the issues we fact-check.
2. A COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY OF SOURCES
We want our readers to be able to verify our findings themselves. We provide all sources in enough detail that readers can replicate our work, except in cases where a source’s personal security could be compromised. In such cases, we provide as much detail as possible.
3. A COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY OF FUNDING & ORGANIZATION
We are transparent about our funding sources. If we accept funding from other organizations, we ensure that funders have no influence over the conclusions we reach in our reports. We detail the professional background of all key figures in our organization and explain our organizational structure and legal status. We clearly indicate a way for readers to communicate with us.
4. A COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY OF METHODOLOGY
We explain the methodology we use to select, research, write, edit, publish and correct our fact checks. We encourage readers to send us claims to fact-check and are transparent on why and how we fact-check.
5. A COMMITMENT TO OPEN AND HONEST CORRECTIONS
We publish our corrections policy and follow it scrupulously. We correct clearly and transparently in line with our corrections policy, seeking so far as possible to ensure that readers see the corrected version.
A story may be marked as disputed if these fact-checkers find the story to be fake.
To see why a news story was marked as disputed on Facebook:
1. Hover and click underneath the disputed story.
2. Click About Disputed Stories, or go directly to the independent fact-checking website.
