Facebook to take actions against those who repeatedly share false content

Facebook will reduce the distribution of all posts in News Feed from an individual’s Facebook account if they repeatedly share content that has been rated by one of the fact-checking partners.

facebook, facebook fake news, fake news online, facebook penalty, facebook false content, misinformation, facebook fact checker, facebook update, facebook features, facebook news

Facebook to take actions against those who repeatedly share false content. (REUTERS)

Facebook will now send a notification if you are interacting with content that has been rated by the company’s fact-checker system. Social media apps like Facebook play a big role in spreading false news, so the company is launching new ways to inform people about false or misleading content. Users will see a pop up if they go to like one of the Pages that share false information.

The pop-up window will inform you about the false content shared by the Page, and then it will ask you whether you want to follow the Page or Go back. Facebook is also expanding penalties for individual Facebook accounts that spread false information.

“We’re launching new ways to inform people if they’re interacting with content that’s been rated by a fact-checker. We’ve taken stronger action against Pages, Groups, Instagram accounts and domains sharing misinformation and now, we’re expanding some of these efforts to include penalties for individual Facebook accounts too,” the company said in a blog post.

Story continues below this ad

It will reduce the distribution of all posts in News Feed from an individual’s Facebook account if they repeatedly share content that has been rated by one of the fact-checking partners. “We already reduce a single post’s reach in News Feed if it has been debunked,” Facebook said.

The social media giant will also send a notification when a user shares a post containing false information. The notification will include the fact-checker’s article debunking the claim as well as a prompt to share the article with their followers. It also includes a notice that people who repeatedly share false information may have their posts moved lower in News Feed so other people are less likely to see them.