Berlin – Facebook has launched a campaign to battle fake news in Germany, the social media platform announced on Sunday.
The internet giant, which has already taken steps in the United States to counter the problem, has enlisted the help of an organization called Correctiv which will review user-reported German content and mark it as doubtful if necessary.
Like in the US, Facebook is also trying to limit the chance of people making money through fake news in Germany.
The company was heavily criticized for not doing more to combat fake news in the 2016 US presidential election and is toughening its procedures in Germany ahead of a German parliamentary poll expected in September.
Although potential fake news will be flagged, it will however not be removed unless it breaches Facebook’s rules.
“The posting itself does not disappear on the platform, we do not hide it, people can still share it,” Facebook manager Guido Buelow said in a statement, adding that untrustworthy articles may though have their visibility reduced.
Correctiv will not receive any money from Facebook.
“We are convinced that everything needs to be done to counter the spread of fake news across social networks,” said David Schraven, head of Correctiv.
Facebook is looking for other partners to help it battle fake news.
– dpa
