Coronavirus: Facebook strengthens its arsenal to fight disinformation

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Facebook, the most used social network in the world, explains that it has already posted warnings on millions of contents related to the coronavirus. New tools will also be released.

Often singled out for their lack of enthusiasm in the fight against disinformation, social networks are trying to redeem themselves from a pipe. This is particularly the case with Facebook, which seems to be the most active platform in this period when the fight against disinformation linked to the pandemic is crucial. The firm of Mark Zuckerberg today presents its first figures on the effectiveness of the tools implemented, and on its strategy for the future. On the program: an association with AFP on educational videos, subsidized fact-checkers, a new section in its information center on the Covid-19, or information messages addressed to users in contact with content harmful.

2 billion users redirected to official sources

With Facebook, the numbers always make you dizzy. What could be more logical for a social network which has around 2.5 billion active users each month. The company now claims to have redirected nearly 2 billion users to information from public health authorities, through the Covid-19 information center set up. It is also believed that more than 350 million users have clicked on educational messages posted on Facebook and Instagram.

She explains that she also deleted hundreds of thousands of content related to the pandemic that did not meet its standards such as "Claims that bleach will cure the virus", or “Theories that young people are immune to Covid-19”.

Recently, BuzzFeed revealed that a ehealth posted by a chiropractor touting the supposed merits of zinc and quinine against Covid-19 had been viewed more than 20 million times and shared nearly 200,000 times.

An army of fact-checkers

To remove or notify this content, Facebook is already working with more than 60 fact-checking organizations that examine content in more than 50 languages. In France, its 5 partners are AFP, The world, Release, 20 minutes and France 24. “During the month of March, we posted warnings on more than 40 million Facebook posts”, says the company. “When users see these warning labels, in more than 95% of cases, they go no further and do not consult the content”.

Facebook is strengthening its partnership with the AFP by launching a series of educational videos on false information relating to the Covid-19. "Each episode, lasting approximately three minutes, traces the DNA of false information, from its creation to its dissemination, and explains the work of AFP information verifiers", relates the press release. The first episode is about a rumor that the Institut Pasteur created the Covid-19.

The Californian firm finally indicates that a new section of its information center will collect fact-checking articles and that messages will be posted in the news feed of people who liked, reacted or commented on harmful information related to Covid. -19 and since deleted.

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