Meta has been facing a dizzying battle against fake information spreading on their social media platforms, namely Facebook, and now the company is moving to give the same treatment to Threads. Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, posted that the group is in the works of developing a fact-checking program for their latest platform.
No further details were given about the program, save for the fact that it will “match fact-check ratings from Facebook or Instagram to Threads” and that it will come sometime next year, with more information coming soon.
Social media has been and will continue to be one of the largest disseminators of information, and as Meta has learned, there are serious consequences when false narratives are left unchecked. If the fact-checkers are anything like the ones found on Facebook and Instagram, then these third-party partners will be flagging and reviewing the content that goes on on Threads, informing people, both the viewer and the sharer, of the news that the information distributed was fake and that repeated offenders will receive penalties.
Furthermore, according to Meta, the company has given Instagram and Facebook users more control, allowing them to decide how sensitive or “how much fact-checked content they see on each app,” a feature that will be available on platform soon. However, it is worth noting that, since Instagram and Threads are linked, if a user chooses to see less sensitive content on Instagram, that setting will also be applied to Threads.
With an ever-increasing number of users, factual information needs to be verified and confirmed. In its current form, Threads is still working its way through how to combat fake posts. With the app’s user base reaching over 100 million, Meta is definitely doing its best to make sure that the only information that is circulating on the platform is factual.
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