Lindsey Pulse
Facebook Is Getting Rid Of Its 'Fake News' Flags
A "related articles" tool will replace the "disputed flags" tool that rolled out in 2016.
LEARN MOREPosted: 12:41 p.m. EST Jan 20, 2018
Facebook is giving power back to the people — by letting them choose which news sources should be prioritized on the site.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook will start asking community members which outlets they recognize and trust. Their answers will help determine what sources the site prioritizes.
Facebook will do that by using surveys in which people essentially score news organizations. Those scores won't be made public, but outlets with consistently high scores may be distributed more in the site's News Feed.
People are already pointing out how badly this idea could backfire.
Publishers are concerned that a system run by people's opinions could be open to manipulation, like promoting partisan sources and demoting reputable sources just because they're small.
Others view the system as a way for Facebook to shirk responsibility for its role in disseminating information.
Facebook will start rolling out the feature in the U.S. first, with plans to take it international in the future.
