[Netherrealmer]

Facebook has been the ultimate source of fake news. It is so influential that it managed to control the election results of 2 countries, The United States and the Philippines. This shows how fake news can control a whole population. Facebook now let's us rate articles from 1 to 5 stars as a way to fight fake news.


I don't think this will fight fake news though, People might end up giving 1 stars to articles that shows opinions they oppose.

Do you think this star ranking system can combat fake news or make things worst?

[A K Rao]

I am not a big fan of Face Book and so I don't know what is going on there! Since the people are experts in baking the false news what is the guarantee that they will grade the news sincerely or genuinely? In fact the site is popular for the fake news and exaggerated presentation of the members! Thanks!

[chikitta]

Honestly i don't think that would curb the menace of people spreading fake news on facebook. It all depends on an individual and what they choose to believe.

[rakski]

I did not know this yet. How can we rate an article on Facebook?

[Lushh]

People might end up giving 1 stars to articles that shows opinions they oppose.

...and this is exactly what will happen.

Interestingly I came across this very thing couple days ago. I read a news article on FB posted by a friend and while exiting that link, I saw a star rating option popped up. I was moving so fast that I clicked out before it really dawned on me what they were asking for - a rating to see if the news was genuine. It was then I remembered your article (this). I had seen what you wrote here before but didn't pay much attention to it because I didn't know anything about it. But yes, it's out there.

[darrensurrey]

Facebook has been the ultimate source of fake news. It is so influential that it managed to control the election results of 2 countries, The United States and the Philippines. This shows how fake news can control a whole population. Facebook now let's us rate articles from 1 to 5 stars as a way to fight fake news.


I don't think this will fight fake news though, People might end up giving 1 stars to articles that shows opinions they oppose.

Do you think this star ranking system can combat fake news or make things worst?

You've nailed it in one. Don't see the point in this. Maybe it needs to be graded by Snopes or someone.

And people will get confused. If it's an article about something they find upsetting, they might downvote it even if they agree that it's true.

[simplyfred]

I don't think so. If there are many fake news there are also many fake accounts who can give 5 stars to fake news.

[jpk7]

Well that's a very good step that Facebook has taken to control the fake news which is rampant everywhere. Impressed to see that a platform like facebook is trying to bring some control on fake news. I wished that mainstream media could learn something from Facebook.The amount of fake and paid news on mainstream media, both print and News networks is just mind boggling. Hope such steps bring about some positive change.

[spiderdust]

The question I want to know is -- can the uneducated masses fairly judge whether or not something is fake news? Can a flat earther who consumes actual fake news (and possibly doesn't realize it) report an article on an evolution discovery as fake news?

I hope that the reports/ratings go through an actual vetted committee rather than solely relying on user submissions, because that's how we get fake news.

[Netherrealmer]

The question I want to know is -- can the uneducated masses fairly judge whether or not something is fake news? Can a flat earther who consumes actual fake news (and possibly doesn't realize it) report an article on an evolution discovery as fake news?

I hope that the reports/ratings go through an actual vetted committee rather than solely relying on user submissions, because that's how we get fake news.

I think it might make the fake news situation worst and influence more governments around the world like what happened to the elections of many countries.

[mrki444]

I did not see that option yet. Is it some beta testing in specific country?

[Netherrealmer]

s to be graded by Snopes or someone.

I think Facebook needs to partner up with snopes since snopes is good at declaring whether a news is real or fake.

I did not see that option yet. Is it some beta testing in specific country?

It is still under development

[mrki444]

We have to be careful about that system. If we can rate news, so it means fake profiles also can rate news and fake news again can be at top.

[spiderdust]

I think Facebook needs to partner up with snopes since snopes is good at declaring whether a news is real or fake.

Snopes could certainly use the help. They had to have a GoFundMe last year to raise money for legal fees because a company they had a contract with wasn't paying them their income generated from ads.

[ptrikha21]

I am not a big fan of Face Book and so I don't know what is going on there! Since the people are experts in baking the false news what is the guarantee that they will grade the news sincerely or genuinely? In fact the site is popular for the fake news and exaggerated presentation of the members! Thanks!

Well, even I am not that much aware about this new feature. I do use facebook, but it is more for sharing my work, or general news or keeping in touch with some folks. I rarely check news from there.
I feel rating by itself won't help much, as people have their own bias and prejudice and may not be impartial in rating news.


-- 30 Oct 2018, 11:57 --

We have to be careful about that system. If we can rate news, so it means fake profiles also can rate news and fake news again can be at top.

Yes, that could also be a possibility and can make things difficult to distinguish!

[Tendz]

How is our rating an article gonna tell us whether it's real or fake news. This is nothing but another way for Facebook to engage audience into their pages and contents.