The Matter factchecking program is currently at the center of discussion in the tech world. Because Mater CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the closure of this program in the United States on January 6. But many do not know what the program is and how it works. The program was originally launched to fight fake news on major platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Threads. For this, Meta took the help of various media organizations like news agency AFP.
Details on how the program works are given below-
Those who do factchecking
Since 2016, Meta has tasked journalists with assessing false information on its platform under a 'third party factchecking' program. Currently 80 media organizations are working in it. For example—in the United States, Mater has 10 media partners for the program, including AFP, USA Today, and specialist factcheck sites Lead Stories and PolitiFact.
These partner companies are accredited by the International FactChecking Network (IFCN). In 2015, the Pointer Institute established this certification system. Poynter Institute is an American nonprofit media training and advocacy group.
IFCN accreditation requires media organizations to meet its editorial quality, impartiality and independence criteria.
Zuckerberg said he would replace the FactChecks program with 'Community Notes'. It is used by rival platform X (formerly Twitter).
That's what factcheckers do
AFP publishes factcheck reports in 26 languages. These reports explain false claims and try to convey accurate information to readers.
The agency's 150 fact-checkers identify false, potentially dangerous and widely circulated claims to prepare their reports. They are verified facts and not opinions or beliefs.
They accomplish this task by collecting specific evidence. It clearly cites the sources of evidence and verifies the facts. They explain the steps of their investigation and publish weblinks to their sources when possible.
The media organization that produces the factcheck article publishes it on its own website. In terms of AFP's English factcheck, this site is—
How Meta uses FactCheck
When fact-checking a claim online, media organizations enter the web address of their report into the Matter interface. This interface links to the reporting of social media posts containing false or misleading information.
This makes the false post less visible on the social platform and a rating like 'False' or 'Misleading' appears next to the post.
The post is not removed from the platform. Instead, a link to a fact-checked report appears below the post, helping readers get accurate information. Those who share the fake post, get a notification. This notification is accompanied by a link to the Fact Check Report.
If the author of the post edits it, the rating is removed and restrictions on how many users can see the post are lifted.
How FactCheck Reports Get Paid
Misleading or misinformed posts mean fact-checking reports are meta. Media organizations can write fact-checking reports on any topic. Organizations produce fact-checking reports on materials that are not published on the platform. However, Meta only pays for reports that are associated with specific posts on the Meta platform.
Meta does not apply ratings or factcheck posts by political figures. However, media organizations publish fact-checking reports on such posts. However, Meta does not pay for those reports either. For example, AFP
Factcheckers should not be mistakenly confused with content moderators. Content moderators remove posts that violate a platform's rules. Such as pornography or racist content, or posts that incite terrorism or violence. But factcheckers only verify the accuracy of information and they work differently.
References: NDTV
