In December, Facebook said that it would start flagging “disputed” stories in an attempt to warn users about fake news and they have just launched that feature.
Gizmodo on Friday published a screen shot showing that a story from the “Seattle Tribune” (a self-proclaimed ” news and entertainment satire web publication”” that had been disputed by Snopes.com and Politifact, two reputable fact checking organizations that have signed the “Code of Principles” from the journalism non-profit Poynter. Facebook isn’t saying the story is false but relying on independent fact checking organizations as it discloses in this help page.
Letting users report fake news
The company is also allowing users to report posts with links to suspected fake news stories. Making such a report doesn’t guarantee that it will be labeled as fake, but it does bring it to the attention of Facebook staff.
If you see a story that you suspect is fake
Click the little down arrow to the right of the story
- Click Report Post
- Click “it’s a fake news story”
- Click “Mark this post as fake news”
- You also have the option to block, unfriend, unfollow or message the person who posted the link.
