Facebook fake news: It’s not easy to spot fake news, writes Laura Hazard Owen, who conducted a test on whether posts identified as fake are flagged as false.
Tag Archives: Facebook
Parting Company With Facebook
Parting company with Facebook: Journalists working with the giant tech platform is a Faustian bargain, writes Mathew Ingram: “The benefits of doing business with Facebook don’t begin to outweigh the ethical compromises required to do so.”
Ingram asks: “How much of what you are doing serves (Facebook’s) interests rather than yours, or the interests of journalism, or society in general?”
Jail For Defying Data Terms Of Service
Jail for defying data terms of service: D. Victoria Baranetsky notes journalists face possible penalties when using data from public websites like Facebook and Twitter.
No journalists have been prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, she writes, “but their sources have, and some journalists have been asked to stop using specific reporting tools by Facebook.”
Images And False Portrayals
Images and false portrayals: Rick Paulas reports that KTVU apologized for using an image from a murder victim’s Facebook account.
The news media often treat subjects differently according to race, writes Paulas, portraying black families as living in poverty and being involved in crime. This has “real-life consequences” and sways attitudes.
Papua New Guinea Faces A Month Without Facebook
Papua New Guinea faces a month without Facebook, following the example of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and North Korea.
Benny Geteng reports that the PNG communications minister wants time to investigate abuses and the possibility of creating a national social network site.
Facebook Community Standards
Facebook publishes its community standards:
Hate speech defined as “a direct attack on people based on what we call protected characteristics — race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity and serious disability or disease.”
The goal of its community standards “is to encourage expression and create a safe environment.”
Facebook says “we remove content, disable accounts and work with law enforcement when we believe there is a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety.”
Facebook Trust Guidelines
Facebook guide to what to read, trust and share in News Feed:
Based on research, “we’re making it easy for people to view context about an article, including the publisher’s Wikipedia entry, related articles on the same topic, information about how many times the article has been shared on Facebook, where it has been shared, as well as an option to follow the publisher’s page,” write Taylor Hughes, Jeff Smith and Alex Leavitt.
Bias Seen In Facebook Coverage
Bias seen in Facebook coverage: Mathew Ingram writes that “at least some of the enthusiasm with which media companies are covering Facebook’s trials and tribulations stems from their resentment over how the company has stolen their readers and advertising revenue.”
Media executives failed to adapt quickly enough to the internet, and then in a desperate attempt to catch up, handed too much of their business to Facebook and Google, he writes.
Shunning Hacked Emails
The case for shunning hacked emails: Nathaniel Zelinsky calls for a “responsible journalism pledge” to prevent Russian from meddling in U.S. elections.
“Most reporters distance themselves from questions about the origin of information, so long as it remains verifiable, while tech companies tend to believe no one should restrict access to information on the internet,” he writes. “But at this particularly dangerous point in our nation’s history, reporters and Facebook alike just might be willing to embrace a new ethical obligation out of a sense of civic duty.”
Facebook Home of Viral Hoaxes
Rumors, misinformation and fake news: Craig Silverman says he helped popularize the term “fake news” and now regrets it.
Silverman and colleagues published an analysis of 50 of the biggest fake news hits on Facebook in 2017.
“This highlights the challenge faced by Facebook to find ways to halt or arrest the spread of completely false stories on its platform, and raises questions about how much progress has been made in fighting this type of misinformation.”
Facebook “remains the home of massively viral hoaxes,” says Silverman.
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 