Facebook and Twitter have joined Google's initiative, which aims to tackle fake news that has the tendency to spread throughout several social media platforms.
It has been a daily routine for people go to their social networking sites and search for news. However, the question of how credible these news reports are have come up, especially since there have been instances when news reports have proven to be a completely fabricated.
The two companies, Facebook and Twitter are now part of the First Draft Coalition (FDC), which was announced back in June 2015 along with YouTube Newswire. The FDC is a curated collection of confirmed eyewitness videos covering numerous news. The group is not only made up of journalists from partner publications but also individual users who can verify stories circulating online.
"Today, news breaks online. Today, the first images to emerge from a breaking news event have been captured by an eyewitness. Today, injustices that may never have been reported become global news stories because a bystander reached for their smartphone. Today, malicious hoaxes and fake new reports are published in increasingly convincing and sophisticated ways." Drafting Managing Director Jenni Sargent said on her report in First Draft News.
In particular, Facebook and Twitter are good additions to the list of allies in the FDC in spotting phony spam posts or fake news. The coalition will provides tools and services that can help platforms figure out if the news that is being posted is a hoax. As Reuters reports, the coalition's platform is scheduled to launch by the end of October.
Media such as Channel 4 News, the Telegraph, the New York Times, Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, ABC News in Australia and Agence France-Presse are among more than 20 newscast groups who have signed up in partnership with the coalition which is being organized through Google-backed First Draft.
