Facebook to ask users to rank news publishers by trustworthiness

-
In a bid to improve the quality of news and repress the spread of fake news on the social networking site, Facebook has announced that it will rank news publishers by trustworthiness based on user feedback. The change, which will go live in U.S next week, is set to be rolled out internationally over the coming weeks.

The move comes after Facebook faced a lot of backlash for allowing fake news, propaganda and misinformation to disseminate on its social network. Facebook will ask users if they are familiar with a news source and more importantly, if they trust that news source via surveys. The company will then use the information gleaned from the surveys to rank news organisations.
In a blog post, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said - "There's too much sensationalism, misinformation and polarization in the world today. Social media enables people to spread information faster than ever before, and if we don't specifically tackle these problems, then we end up amplifying them. That's why it's important that News Feed promotes high quality news that helps build a sense of common ground".
ALSO READ: Facebook goes old-school, will show more content from friends and family in News Feed now
"Here's how this will work. As part of our ongoing quality surveys, we will now ask people whether they're familiar with a news source and, if so, whether they trust that source. The idea is that some news organizations are only trusted by their readers or watchers, and others are broadly trusted across society even by those who don't follow them directly" - he added.

The move is sure to generate controversy as users by and large are not a very reliable source of information. Putting power in the hands of users can cause a lot of chaos and confusion - they can be easily misled and tricked or can simply want false news to be real.
Recently, Mark Zuckerberg announced that news will make up only 4 per cent of content in people's News Feed, as compared to 5 per cent before. He also promised that Facebook will show lesser unpaid posts from publishers and brands and more content from family and friends.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New UGC rules permit third-party agencies to accredit higher education institutes

-
Image
Agencies other than the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) will soon be able to evaluate higher education institutions as the University Grants Commission (UGC) has passed a new regulation permitting their entry. The new rules, which were approved by the Commission in a meeting held this month, enables UGC to grant licences to third-party agencies for accreditation of educational institutes. The regulation now awaits HRD Ministry’s nod. Among the new accreditation bodies will be one spearheaded by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), sources told The Indian Express. The premier engineering schools, in a meeting of IIT directors held in Chennai last month, have agreed to set up a Section 8 company, which will apply for a licence under the new UGC regulation. The decision was taken at the behest of the Union government, which feels that the involvement of IITs will lend prestige to the accreditation process. The id
Read more

Valla Sadhya

-
Image
Valla Sadhya Sadya items ready to be served, clockwise from top: paayasam, bittergourd thoran, aviyal, kaalan, lime pickle, sambar; buttermilk with boiled rice in the center. Valla Sadya is a celebration in the Hindu temple at Aranmula, Kerala, India. During the festival the village conducts a snake boat race in the Pampa River, and there is a feast at the temple. The Valla Sadhya is conducted on Ashtamirohoni day.  During Valla Sadhya, Lord Krishna, the main deity worshipped in the temple, will come to take the offerings from people. The legend is that in a Valla Sadya all dishes asked for must be given to the people in order to please the lord.
Read more

Bangladesh: Govt takes up Ashrayan-3 project to shelter Rohingya refugees

-
In addition to the temporarily shelter of Rohingya refugees, the cost of construction of necessary infrastructure for the island will be BDT 2,312 crores. The project will be implemented by the Bangladesh Navy under the Prime Minister's Office of the government's priority list. Bangladesh government has taken a project called 'Ashrayan-3' for temporary housing of one lakh Rohingya people. This project will be implemented in Bhasanchar of Hatiya upazila in Noakhali district. Although Bangladesh has more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in which, more than 6,25,000 Rohingyas have fled violence in Myanmar to seek refuge in Cox's Bazar of Bangladesh, since August 25. In addition to the temporarily shelter of Rohingya refugees, the cost of construction of necessary infrastructure for the island will be BDT 2,312 crores. The project will be implemented by the Bangladesh Navy under the Prime Minister's Office of the government's priority list.
Read more