Humans come up trumps as Facebook rolls out its solution for fake news
Fake news is now regarded as one of the most politically destabilising developments in recent years, Facebook's new solution hopes to turn the tide on the fakers
Key takeaways
- The new feature uses non-partisan third party organisations like Snopes and Politifact to assess the factual accuracy of stories reported as fake by users.
- The new Disputed tool was first revealed by users on Twitter.
- Similar efforts are planned in Europe amid threats from the European Union to reduce on the spread of misinformation.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2017) 'Humans come up trumps as Facebook rolls out its solution for fake news', 311 Institute, 9 March. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/humans-come-up-trumps-as-facebook-rolls-out-its-solution-for-fake-news/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Ironically, for all the amazing things that artificial intelligence (AI) can do, from running Wall Street hedge funds to even running Mark Zuckerberg's own house, it turns out that when it comes to spotting, and weeding out, fake news humans are still the best alternative. Hah, stupid AI... Yesterday social media giant Facebook announced that it's launched its much hyped “fake news” crackdown initiative in the US, tagging as “Disputed” the stories that are deemed false by fact checking organisations.
The new feature uses non-partisan third party organisations like Snopes and Politifact to assess the factual accuracy of stories reported as fake by users.
On its help centre page, Facebook has added a question “How is news marked as disputed on Facebook?” However, the section noted that this feature is not yet available to everyone, and it's unclear how many people currently have access to the “fake news” debunking feature.
The new Disputed tool was first revealed by users on Twitter. Facebook had originally introduced a beta solution to tackle fake news stories last December, amid outcries that so called fake news influenced the outcome of the US presidential election, and now they've made it official by partnering with the third party signatories who've signed up to the Poynter’s International Fact Checking Code of Principles service that includes ABC News, FactCheck.org, Snopes and Politifact, among others.
Stories that are flagged by Facebook users as ‘fake news’ will now be passed on to these fact checkers for verification, and if the fact checkers agree that the story is misleading, it'll appear in News Feeds with a “disputed” tag, along with a link to a corresponding article explaining why it might be false. These posts then appear lower in the news feed and users will receive a warning before sharing the story.
Similar efforts are planned in Europe amid threats from the European Union to reduce on the spread of misinformation. The social networking site recently revealed fact checking partnerships in Germany and France ahead of respective elections in each country.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Fake news is now regarded as one of the most politically destabilising developments in recent years, Facebook's new solution hopes to turn the tide on the fakers
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
Read full bio
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
What future do you need to see?
Choose one to get started on connected society and the future of your organisation.
Sources and further reading
- Snopes snopes.com
- Politifact politifact.com
- Poynter’s International Fact Checking Code of Principles poynter.org
- ABC News abcnews.go.com
- FactCheck.org factcheck.org
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 9 March 2017. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2017). Humans come up trumps as Facebook rolls out its solution for fake news. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/humans-come-up-trumps-as-facebook-rolls-out-its-solution-for-fake-news/
You are welcome to quote this article with credit and a link to the original.