Fact checking
Facebook has taken a significant step against fake news with the integration of fact checking services provided by independent services including factchecker.org in the US and Correctiv in Germany.
This is necessary because fake news and hateful distortions spread so rapidly on social media. This is a global problem. Indonesian religious extremists rallied last week demanding the sacking of the Chief of the West Java Police Force following false news reports that one of their members had been stabbed.
The problem is that there is a global breakdown of trust in the government and the media. Edelman reports that governments are distrusted in 75% of the 83 countries it surveys annually*. The media is distrusted even more. Cynical politicians are deliberately undermining peoples trust in government and the media to protect themselves from criticism.
We have to rebuild trust in the media. Organisations like factchecker.org, Correctiv and others are starting to provide independent and trustworthy verification of internet news. More needs to be done, to train 'citizen journalists', bloggers and facebookers how to verify their sources and moderate their discussion. New business models need to be created to preserve professional investigative journalism and to cut off the sources of funding for fake news.
Let's agree for a start that there is no such thing as an 'alternative fact'.
* https://www.edelman.com/executive-summary/