Facebook gave a small sneak-peak to all the users regarding the level of the fight put up against the misinformation spread during the US presidential election. In the weeks reaching up to the election on 3rd November, Facebook had rampantly tagged warning labels to over 180 million posts by users which were suspected of spreading misinformation and hate speech. Along with rolling out warnings, Facebook had also removed almost 265,000 content pieces to uphold the strict rule of Facebook. The company has strict regulations against interference from the voters.
Facebook Filled With Fake News
Guy Rosen, the Vice President of Integrity, has recently shared the position and stats over a telephone conversation with the reporters on 19th November, Thursday. He also stated that approximately 95% of the entire Facebook users show no intention of clicking across the warning labels before opening the posts that have been labeled as misinformation. More important are the stats that cover the period from March to Election Day on 3rd November. As a result, there was no insight inside the company’s efforts after the election to slow down that rampant spread of misinformation.
Rosen has also shared the update regarding the fight against the coronavirus misinformation that is being put up by the company. He also added from March to October, Facebook has taken up to terminate almost 12 million posts. These posts have been suspected by Facebook of spreading dangerous and offensive information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the rules of Facebook, they have decided to remove all misinformation which leads to communal disharmony and societal chaos. At present, Facebook has so far labeled almost 167 million posts surrounding the coronavirus misrepresentation and fake news.
Steps Taken By Facebook
The figures have been offered along with the transparency reports that provide the details regarding the content that has been taken down by Facebook due to various reasons. Facebook has removed more than 22 million posts suspected of hate speech in the 3rd quarter this year. In the quarter preceding this, the number increased to 22.5 million. However, the good news is that Facebook is providing some transparency for these numbers.
The ad boycott in the summer was generated by leaders of civil rights over policies of hate speech.
Facebook has not only tried to take down hate speech but also misinformation.
Facebook officials have been proactive with AI technology to detect these fake news.
