Ways to counter the Fake News problem!

Facebook plastering full-page ads in newspapers with advice on how to spot fake news is not a good sign. It suggests that the social media giant may have run out of algorithmic methods to root out this problem. Or perhaps it's just a PR exercise to let everyone know it's doing its bit to fix the problem. The last time we saw Facebook advertise in mainstream newspapers, it was to push through its ill-fated 'Free Basics' program (aka selective internet for poor people). So, that's not a good precedent. However, all hope is not lost! There are indeed several algorithmic and user-initiated ways to fix the problem. From third-party fact checkers like IFCN (International Fact Checking Network) to Le Monde's Les Decodeurs (which helps users flag whole sites as fake) to algorithmically checking if a website was just created (thus lowering credibility for news published on it), there are a combination of approaches being used by various sites to solve this menace. More in this BBC piece

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