Chances are that before you read this article, you had probably been scanning the web in search of stories of interest to you. You also spent a little more time on stories of such interest, skipped the ads and kept on scrolling till you came here.
You stopped here because you trusted the opinion of Ventures Africa (which is a fantastic idea). But in dealing with all the information that internet provides, the lack of a filter exposes you to so much that you are bound to definitely come across misleading stuff.
Information moves at the speed of a click. Our opinions and daily conversations are shaped constantly by what we read, watch and hear. The average adult spends about 27 hours 36 minutes in a week on the internet according to The Telegraph.
In a move that helps to reduce the peddling of wrong information, Facebook, one of the world’s most popular social networking sites would be introducing tools in Germany to filter what is posted as news.
The introduction of the new tools is believed to be in an effort to assuage fears as political and social issues have caused a rise in the sharing of information on the internet that in most cases mislead the public. Analysts also believe that Facebook’s innovation could be been motivated by a proposed law in Germany which would levy a €500,000 fine for each single piece of misinformation published and not removed by the platform within 24 hours.
The country is to become the first country outside the US to benefit from the social media giant’s crackdown on fake news as concerns have been raised about the need to control what is been shared ahead of elections that would occur later in the year.
Germany has been beset by a number of terrorist attacks prompting locals to spread rumours about the influence of migration patterns into the country, especially by refugees, leading to increased bias against foreigners.
According to the Financial Times, users of Facebook in Germany will now be able to report a story as fake and send it to Correctiv, an independent investigative newsroom, for fact checking. If the post is discovered to be fake, the story will be flagged as “disputed”, with an explanation.
Such stories will not be prioritised on the news feed and people will receive a warning if they decide to share it.
In December 2016, Facebook introduced a similar approach in the US, partnering with news organisations like ABC News and the Associated Press to verify controversial stories.
This was initiated by reports of misinformation that many claim affected the outcome of the recent US presidential elections, and helping Donald Trump win as a recent US intelligence report found Russia complicit in the election by claims of hacking the Democratic National Committee.
Fake news has become a front-burner as news is no longer as it used to be. The traditional media platforms that control how information has spread no longer hold that monopoly.
Fake stories, manipulation and propaganda all share similarities with real and factual news – they influence and inform people as such once misinformation is out, it can be spread like a wildfire and once it’s out, it’s out.
