Forum Moderators: webwork
Our overall view at this point is that –
* The Third Party Fact Checking programme is worthwhile, and it is likely that something similar may be needed on other internet platforms too.
* We have been encouraged by some signs that Facebook is continuing to develop the programme based on feedback, and we believe that further development is needed
* We believe that Facebook’s current rating system for the Third Party Fact Checking programme needs to change, and we have made other specific recommendations about how the programme can
be strengthened.
* Fact checking depends on access to authoritative expert information, and in a world with more information than ever, where it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not, we believe government should do more to ensure trustworthy sources are available, for example in areas like public health and the law.
However, we raise two major concerns –
* Scale. Facebook’s focus seems to be increasing scale by extending the Third Party Fact Checking programme to more languages and countries (it is currently working with fact checkers across 42 languages worldwide). However, there is also a need to scale up the volume of content and speed of response. This, again, is an industry-wide concern relevant to other internet companies too.
* Opacity. We want Facebook to share more data with fact checkers, so that we can better evaluate content we are checking and evaluate our impact.
Recommendations for Facebook
* 1: Continue developing tools that can better identify potentially harmful false content including repeated posts.
* 2: Provide more data on shares over time for flagged content.
* 3: Add a ‘Mixture’ rating which does not reduce the reach of content.
* 4: Add an ‘Unsubstantiated’ rating.
* 5: Add a ‘More context needed’ rating.
* 6: Add a rating for humorous posts other than satire or pranks.
* 7: Develop clearer guidance on how to differentiate between several claims within a single post
* 8: Share more data with fact checkers about the reach of our fact checks.
* 9: The Third Party Fact Checking programme should expand to fully include Instagram content.
* 10: Be explicit about plans for machine learning.
Recommendations for government
* 11: The government should review responsibilities for providing authoritative public information on topics where harm may result from inaccurate information and fill gaps.
Facebook have responded: “Our third-party fact-checking programme is an important part of our multi-pronged approach to ghting misinformation. We welcome feedback that draws on the experiences and rst-hand knowledge of organisations like Full Fact, which has become a valued partner in the U.K.
We are encouraged that many of the recommendations in the report are being actively pursued by our teams as part of continued dialogue with our partners, and we know there’s always room to improve. This includes scaling the impact of fact-checks through identical content matching and similarity detection, continuing to evolve our rating scale to account for a growing spectrum of types of misinformation, piloting ways to utilise fact-checkers’ signals on Instagram and more. We also agree that there’s a need to explore additional tactics for fighting false news at scale.
We look forward to continued collaboration with Full Fact and our more than 50 global fact-checking partners.”
