Facebook moves to address fake news

MANILA, Philippines - Social media giant Facebook has assured Filipinos that it is taking measures to address the proliferation of fake news and misinformation on the popular online platform.

“We take misinformation seriously. Our goal is to connect people with the stories they find most meaningful, and we know people want accurate information,” the company said in an e-mailed statement.

“We’ve been working on this problem for a long time – years – and still have more work to do. A few months ago we previewed some of the things we’re working on to address the issue of fake news and hoaxes,” it added.

Facebook was responding to the Senate resolution filed by Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who sought accountability from the social media platform for its supposed “inaction” over the spread of fake news.

“More than being an online platform, Facebook may be described as a de facto media company or publisher that should be responsible and accountable for the content it distributes and allows to be distributed, in order to protect the national discourse from fabricated and false news,” Pangilinan said in a statement on Thursday.

“The propagation of fake news stories has become an effective weapon of several political operatives to influence public opinion and national discourse. As a result, the level and quality of public discourse have suffered,” he added.

Pangilinan said discerning the truth from lies has become more difficult following the manipulation of information and blatant fabrication of stories on the platform.

He filed the resolution on the heels of similar legislation in Germany, which sought to penalize the social media giant for failing to moderate posts believed to contain fake information.

In its response to Pangilinan, Facebook outlined the measures it has taken to address the issue.

These include an easier way of reporting fake content, enabling users to flag disputed stories, testing a system on informed sharing and disrupting of financial incentives for spammers.

“The problems here are complex, both technically and philosophically. We believe in giving people a voice, which means erring on the side of letting people share what they want whenever possible,” said Facebook.

“We need to be careful not to discourage sharing of opinions or to mistakenly restrict accurate content.