Facebook Tests Adding Labels to Posts to Avoid Misinformation

Facebook is reportedly adding additional labels to satire pages.

(File Photo: IANS)

Facebook is testing out adding labels to certain posts, so that people don't confuse satire for real news, in a bid to offer more clarity to users and fight misinformation on the platform.

Some of the labels included are ‘public official’, ‘fan page’ and ‘satire page’. The company said that it is testing a way to give people more context about the pages they see, so that people can better understand who they’re coming from.

This update focuses on identifying satirical sites such as The Onion and The Babylon Bee that produce satirical content. According to The Verge, even high profile celebrities such as president Donald Trump have mistaken satirical stories for real news.

Labels are located in a small text under the account’s name on the news feed. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook)

These labels are located in a small text under the account’s name on the news feed. However, this isn’t the first time that Facebook has tried to make the content of a post ‘clearer’.

Earlier in June, the social media giant started labeling media outlets which are under the editorial control of the government. “We believe people should know if the news they read is coming from a publication that may be under the influence of a government,” read a statement by Facebook.

Meanwhile, Facebook is facing the heat in another controversy after an alleged major privacy breach concerning data leak of 533 million users on its platform from over 100 countries.

The leaked data has been posted for free on hacking forums and includes date of joining, place of work, names, gender, occupation and relationship status of users,