Really, nobody is in love with fake news except for those who benefit from it. On one end of that spectrum, fake-news sites spread dangerous falsehoods that have placed lives in peril. However, some people (including President Trump) use the term as an insult to “take down” legitimate news stories that don’t match up to their political agenda.
Facebook has been worried about their role in the spreading of false information, and has recently taken steps to make it easier for users to report instances where they suspect something not completely on the up-and-up has found its way onto their timeline. Some wonder if the platform goes far enough to do so, but it’s clear that they’re taking steps, and now, Facebook says that everyone should do their part to help combat fake news.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is now distancing the platform from being the ultimate fake news judge. Sandberg says while Facebook is totally down for leading the fight, the deletion of fake news from the interwebs will take a collaborative effort, CNBC reports:
“I don’t think we have to be the publisher and we definitely don’t want to be the arbiter of the truth,” Sandberg said. “We don’t think that’s appropriate for us. We think everyone needs to do their part. Newsrooms have to do their part, media companies, classrooms and technology companies.”
In a time where people retweet, like, and share articles often based entirely on headlines, social media giants such as Facebook must deal with the burden of having to police what appears on their sites. Sandberg said as much to CNBC and reiterated that Facebook is intent on making sure you can trust things you see there.
“Well, we all have to do our part to make sure that people see accurate information and figuring out how we do that is something that we’re going to have to see and will evolve. But we know the goal, the goal is for people to see accurate information on Facebook and everywhere else.”
Sandberg closed by saying that Facebook takes its responsibilities seriously and hopes that fake news will eventually disappear, but they need everyone’s help to make that a reality.
(Via CNBC)