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Facebook Canada teams up with AFP to fight fake news ahead of federal election

Facebook logos are pictured on the screens of a smartphone (R), and a laptop computer, in central London on November 21, 2016. Facebook on Monday became the latest US tech giant to announce new investment in Britain with hundreds of extra jobs but hinted its success depended on skilled migration after Britain leaves the European Union. The premier social network underlined London's status as a global technology hub at a British company bosses' summit where Prime Minister Theresa May sought to allay business concerns about Brexit. / AFP / Justin TALLIS (Photo credit should read JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Facebook logos are pictured on the screens of a smartphone (R), and a laptop computer, in central London on November 21, 2016. Facebook on Monday became the latest US tech giant to announce new investment in Britain with hundreds of extra jobs but hinted its success depended on skilled migration after Britain leaves the European Union. The premier social network underlined London's status as a global technology hub at a British company bosses' summit where Prime Minister Theresa May sought to allay business concerns about Brexit. / AFP / Justin TALLIS (Photo credit should read JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)Getty Images / JUSTIN TALLIS
The goal, Facebook says, is to ensure its platform is a space for authentic civic engagement.

Facebook Canada says it has launched a new third-party fact-checking program on its platform, aimed at stopping the spread of fake news.

Facebook is teaming up with the Agence France-Presse (AFP) as part of its “elections integrity initiative.”

The goal, Facebook says, is to ensure its platform is a space for “authentic civic engagement.”

Here’s how it will work: When a news story on Facebook is flagged as false, AFP fact-checkers in Canada will review the story, check the facts, and then rate the story’s accuracy. If a story is rated as false, it will appear lower in the news feed, meaning you’re less likely to see it. Articles written by fact-checkers will appear below the original story in the news feed to provide additional context. Users will be notified if they are about to share a story that has been flagged as false and pages that routinely share false stories could have their ability to monetize or advertise removed.

Facebook says articles may be flagged with the following ratings:

  1. False: The primary claim(s) in the article are factually inaccurate. This generally corresponds to “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact checkers' sites.
  2. Mixture: The claim(s) in the article are a mix of accurate and inaccurate or the article is misleading or incomplete.
  3. True: The primary claim(s) in the article are factually accurate. This generally corresponds to “true” or “mostly true” ratings on fact checkers' sites.
  4. Not Rated: This is the default state before you have fact-checked an article. Leaving it in this state (or returning to this rating from another rating) means the we should take no action based on your rating.
  5. Not Eligible: The information in the article is not eligible to be fact checked, but may still benefit from additional context (e.g., satire, opinion, polls, quizzes, etc.)
  6. Prank Generator: Websites that allow users to create their own “prank” news stories to share on social media sites.

"We are committed to fighting the spread of false news and misinformation on multiple fronts, employing a variety of tools and tactics. Working with AFP on the third-party fact-checking program is a continuation of our Canadian Elections Integrity Initiative, and one of the ways we hope to better identify and reduce the reach of false news that people share on our platform," Kevin Chan, Head of Public Policy at Facebook Canada, said in a press release.

AFP is an international news organization based in Paris, France. It is the third-largest news agency in the world after the Associated Press and Reuters. It is also a signatory on the non-profit Poynter Institute’s non-partisan International Fact-Checking Network’s fact-checks’ code of principles.

Here's how to flag a news story as false (even this one, if you want):

  1. Click ... next to the post you'd like to mark as false
  2. Click Give feedback on this post
  3. Click false news
  4. Click send