While fake Facebook profiles aren’t new, in recent times we’ve seen how fake profiles are used to spread fake news, which in turn can mislead users and also impact events such as elections. In the recent US Presidential elections, it has been said that fake news had an impact on the outcome.Over in France, we’ve also heard about how fake news has been flooding social media, which is why ahead of the elections in the UK, Facebook has gone ahead and purged thousands of fake accounts. In addition to deleting fake profiles, Facebook has been tweaking the algorithm for its News Feed in determining what news should be shown and what shouldn’t.
For example they are putting one into action that was previously trialed in the US, where articles that are read but rarely shared are buried. The company claims that this is a good ratio and an indicator that an article might contain misleading or false information. That isn’t necessarily true since not everyone has to share what they read, but we suppose there is some logic as no one would willingly share fake news, right?
The social media platform is also planning on taking out a range of full page ads in various newspapers in the UK in which they provide tips on how to spot fake news, According to Simon Milner, Facebook’s director of policy for the UK, “People want to see accurate information on Facebook and so do we. That is why we are doing everything we can to tackle the problem of fake news.”
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