Facebook Inc., the world’s largest social-networking platform is educating users on how to spot fake news.
The next few times people on Facebook from 14 countries for now, log on to their accounts, they’ll see a prompt at the top of their news feeds asking them to view tips on how to spot a false story.
Facebook suggests being skeptical about sensational-sounding headlines, checking for misspellings and awkward formatting, and spotting errors in web addresses to make sure a site isn’t masquerading as a reputable news organization.
After the election of President Donald Trump, Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg had to respond to critics who said that certain viral stories on the network—such as a false report saying that the pope had endorsed Trump—could have swayed the election.
While they are pressing Facebook to take more responsibility for the spread of disinformation, that also raises questions whether Facebook should become an arbiter of truth.