Internet giant Meta’s fact-checking program aims to combat misinformation on its social platforms – Facebook, Instagram and Threads – with the help of media organizations including AFP.
Following Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement on January 6 that he was stopping the program in the United States, here’s a guide to how it works.
Who does the fact-checking?
Since 2016, Meta has tasked journalists with assessing misinformation on its platforms under its “third-party fact-checking” program – which 80 media organizations are currently working on.
For example, in the United States, Meta has 10 media partners for the program, including AFP, USA Today, and specialist fact-checking sites Lead Stories and PolitiFact.
The partners are certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which was founded in 2015 by the Poynter Institute, a US-based non-profit media training and advocacy group.
To be certified by IFCN, media organizations must meet standards of editorial quality, neutrality and independence.
Zuckerberg said he would replace fact-checking with user-generated “community notes”, similar to those used on rival platform X, formerly Twitter, owned by Elon Musk.
What do fact-checkers do?
AFP publishes fact-checking articles in 26 languages, with the aim of targeting readers of posts published in those languages.
The articles explain why the claims are misleading and provide correct information for readers.
To commission their articles, AFP’s 150 fact-checkers identify claims that are misleading, potentially dangerous and being widely circulated across platforms.
They verify facts, not opinions or beliefs.
They do this by gathering solid evidence that is obtained transparently and cross-checked.
They explain the steps of their investigation and publish weblinks to their sources where possible.
The media organization that prepares the fact-checking article publishes it on its website.
In the case of AFP Fact Check published in English, the site is Factcheck.afp.com.
How does Meta use fact-checking?
To apply fact-checking to a claim disseminated online, a media organization enters the web address of its article into an interface provided by Meta.
This interface links articles to social media posts containing false or misleading information.
This causes misleading posts to be seen less widely on social platforms and ratings such as “false” or “misleading” tend to appear alongside posts.
The post has not been removed from the platform – instead, a link to the fact-checking article appears below the post, directing readers to verified information.
Users who shared the misleading post receive a notification providing a link to the fact-checking article.
If the author of the post corrects it, the rating is removed and restrictions on how many users view the post are lifted.
When are fact-checking articles paid for?
Meta pays media organizations to publish articles that link to misleading posts.
Media organizations can write articles on any topic they choose – even regarding misinformation that is not circulating on Meta’s platforms.
But Meta only pays them for articles that link to specific posts on its platform.
Meta does not apply ratings or attach fact-checking to posts by political figures.
This does not prevent media organizations from publishing articles about such posts – as AFP regularly does. But they don’t get paid from Meta for those articles.
Fact-checkers should not be confused with Meta’s content moderators.
Moderators remove posts that break the platform’s rules, for example those that feature pornography or racist material, or incite terrorism or violence.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
