Fake news concerns after Meta stops censoring content

(CLO) Meta's controversial decision to stop censoring content control puts the future of fighting fake news in India in serious jeopardy.

Early Tuesday morning (January 7), Silicon Valley time, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a major overhaul of Meta, with a focus on loosening content controls and prioritizing free speech. The decision to eliminate third-party fact-checking shows that Meta is willing to take risks to create an open forum for all opinions, even if this may lead to controversy.

One of the media organizations that has been affected by this decision is The Quint - a prestigious news organization in India with a team of 40 journalists, which has partnered with Meta to set up a division called Webqoof, dedicated to fighting fake news and raising awareness about media.

Photo: The Quint

While Quint has shrunk in size in recent years due to the general struggles of the Indian media industry, the Webqoof team has remained steady at around six to seven people. With steady funding from Meta’s fact-checking program, the team publishes around 90 articles a month, focusing on debunking misinformation and raising awareness.

Meta’s decision to end its fact-checking program has caused widespread confusion among the global anti-disinformation community. Quint journalists, who rely heavily on this funding, have expressed deep concern about the future of their projects and concerns about the spread of misinformation.

Through its partnership program, Meta pays organizations like Quint to fact-check information on its platform. Journalists review and provide evidence for misinformation, helping users recognize and avoid fake news. While not a perfect solution, the program has benefited both Meta and news organizations, helping to clean up the internet.

Cutting resources to support information control in India would have serious consequences, especially for the Muslim community. Given the tense political situation and the proliferation of misinformation on social media, withdrawing these resources would exacerbate discrimination and violence, threatening social stability.

The 2023 train crash is a prime example of the damage that fake news can do. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, false information was widely circulated online, blaming a Muslim station manager. Thanks to the efforts of fact-checkers like The Quint, these stories were quickly debunked and labeled with warnings on social media platforms. This shows the importance of fact-checking and the role that platforms can play in stopping the spread of fake news.

“We all agree that Zuckerberg’s ‘Community Notes’ feature will never be as effective and credible as working with fact-checking partners,” a Quint journalist shared . “Having professional journalists conduct fact-checks in accordance with journalistic standards would yield much more accurate and trustworthy results.”

Phan Anh (according to Quint, CIR)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/to-bao-an-do-mat-nguon-thu-va-moi-lo-tin-gia-sau-khi-meta-dung-kiem-duyet-noi-dung-post330331.html