Fake news is a problem the internet has been dealing with for quite some time, but the issue was only taken seriously after the U.S. general elections. Facebook is one of the main sources to come across fake news, and the company has been doing everything it can to put an end to it.
One of the ways Facebook plans to cut the flow of fake news to its platform is by the use of curated articles. These curated articles will be handpicked by publishers, making it almost impossible for fake news content to slip through the seams. It's one of the many ways Facebook hopes to get a handle on the situation, which also includes cutting off fake news sources from its ad platform.
According to folks who spoke with The Business Insider, these curated articles will be placed in a section on the social platform known as Collections. This section will deliver stories and other forms of media by sources selected by Facebook. Business Insider went on to add that Facebook has been courting media companies to get them onboard in order to have an abundance of content from the get-go.
It seems early partners have claimed that created content will be slipped into users' News Feed by Facebook curators, ultimately giving these content a larger reach.
One should expect Facebook to use Collections, if successful, to compete directly with Snapchat's Discover. About 150 million daily users view the Discover section, so we could see Facebook being aggressive with Collections once it becomes available to the public.
As for advertisements, it's not yet certain if Facebook will inject ads into Collections. It might not at the beginning, but if the system takes off, the chances of seeing ads will likely increase.
Facebook Having Control Over News Content Viewed By Users
Collections might not go as planned if some folks take issue with Facebook having direct control over what users of its platform view as news. Human curators are not perfect, and there is the likely chance of some being biased when selecting news content for millions of users to see.
Back in November, a fake news writer on Facebook says he makes thousands of dollars writing fake content. Furthermore, Facebook at one time had the means to tackle fake news, but the company decided not to go along for the ride because it feared a possible backlash from some groups.
Facebook is not the only company in hot water when it comes down to dealing with fake news content. Google has failed to handle fake news in a good way after several election-related searches highlighted hoax websites at the top of the result list.
