Facebook has announced a new feature after saying that they would increase the transparency of the content shared by its users on the platform. Today (4 June 2020 in US time), the social media giant said that they would begin labelling Pages of media websites that are state-controlled.
An example a label indicating that the article is housed under a state-controlled editorial team or website. Source: Facebook.
Facebook reasons that people should be aware of the news they read and if the story comes from publications that are under the influence of a government. They've added that this policy was done in consult with 65 experts across the world from different fields, which include specialists in media, governance, human rights, and development. Using the consultations and the research conducted by Facebook themselves, they will look at the following factors before indicating editorial content that might be controlled by a government, such as:
- The editorial website's mission statement and/or public reporting on how it accomplishes its journalistic mission
- The publisher's ownership structure
- The editorial guidelines around its transparency and diversity of sources
- The information around the newsroom's staff
- The sources of funding and its revenue
- Its accountability and governance mechanisms around corrections, complaints, and other similar procedures
A closer look at the above image. Source: Facebook.
Of course, Pages of media websites that have been labelled as state-controlled (when they are not) can choose to appeal (via the URL here). Still, additional documentation will be required to refute Facebook's labelling decision.
Facebook also added that they would label the advertisements taken on by state-controlled media in Summer 2020, which is less than a month away.
Source: Facebook, via TechCrunch
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