In it’s ongoing battle with false news, Facebook is taking an old-fashioned approach: putting ads in newspapers.
The ads are appearing in French publications the Le Monde, Libération, and Le Parisien, among others. Each ad has ten tips, advising readers to check story sources, dates, and facts wherever possible — common sense, you’d think.
The choice of country wasn’t made at random; France is set to hold its presidential election later this month. French newspapers seem like an odd place for Facebook advice, but the social media site might just be trying to reach as many demographics as possible.
Facebook declared war on the false news epidemic last December. To stop the spread of misleading stories, the company pinned tips for spotting said stories to the Newsfeed, purged dummy accounts, and tagged disputed stories. Whether this is a genuine attempt at social change or an aggressive PR campaign to improve the site’s image (or both), it’s good to see Facebook doing something positive.
via Ars Technica
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