Subscribe & Follow

Advertise your job vacancies

Jobs

Social Media Journalist Intern Paarl
Social Writer Johannesburg
Pioneering Coordinator Cape Town
Junior Social Coordinator and Content Creator Cape Town
Social Media Manager Cape Town
Video Editor for Social Media Content Cape Town
Social Media Manager and Strategist Cape Town
Junior Digital Art and Social Media Marketing Coordinator Johannesburg
Multi Media Journalist | South Coast Sun Durban
Recruitment Consultant Work From Home

Facebook to reject ads from pages touting 'fake news'

30 Aug 2017

SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook said that pages that make a habit of linking to bogus news stories will no longer be able to advertise at the world's leading online social network.

SKDesign © – 123RF.com

The move is the latest shot fired by Facebook in its war against 'fake news' used to deceive instead of enlighten.

"If Pages repeatedly share stories marked as false, these repeat offenders will no longer be allowed to advertise on Facebook," product managers Tessa Lyons and Satwik Shukla said in a blog post.

"This update will help to reduce the distribution of false news which will keep Pages that spread false news from making money."

The social network already didn't allow ads that link stories determined to be false by third-party fact-checkers.

"False news is harmful to our community," Lyons and Shukla said.

"It makes the world less informed and erodes trust."

Fake news became a serious issue in last year's US election campaign, when clearly fraudulent stories circulated on social media, potentially swaying some voters.

Click farms curtailed

Concerns have been raised since then about hoaxes and misinformation affecting elections in Europe this year, with investigations showing how "click farms" generate revenue from online advertising using made-up news stories.

"We've found instances of Pages using Facebook ads to build their audiences in order to distribute false news more broadly," Lyons and Shukla said.

Facebook and Google have been working to curtail, or at least flag, stories crafted to deceive instead of enlighten.

Google earlier this year added a fact-checking tag to search results globally, its latest initiative to help curb the spread of misinformation and "fake news."

The new tags, to be used in all languages for users worldwide, use third-party fact-checkers to indicate whether news items are true, false or somewhere in-between.

The feature debuted about the same time Facebook added a new tool in news feeds to help users determine whether shared stories are real or bogus.

Source: AFP

Source: I-Net Bridge

For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

Go to: http://www.inet.co.za