Facebook said on Wednesday that they are rolling out a wide range of updates that are aimed at curbing the spread of hate and harmful information on its social media site. The company is now stepping up their fight against the hate speech and misinformation as the outside pressure has increased.
This update will limit the visibility of the links that are prominent on Facebook especially than across the web suggesting that they are just click bait and misleading. The company is also planning to expand its fact-checking program with the outside expert sources and this includes the Associated Press to remove any kind of spam videos and other material that is posted on Facebook.
Facebook groups- the communities present on this platform are usually pointed out as lightning rods to spread fake information will be closely monitored. If any group is found disseminating fake information, their visibility in the user’s news feed will be limited.
The human rights and lawmakers groups are critical about this company for spreading extremism and misinformation on Instagram and Facebook. During a hearing on Tuesday about the spread of white nationalism, the Congress members questioned Facebook’s representative about the preventive measures that are taken by the company to stop uploading and sharing violent material on its site.
In a separate Senate hearing on Wednesday, the lawmakers asked about the allegations stating that the social media companies are biased against these conservatives.
These dual hearings illustrate that the social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are behaving as if they are trying to eliminate all the harmful and problematic materials on one hand and are trying hard to be construed about censorship too.
Facebook is facing a tough challenge with all the criticism, backlash and hearings. The company is trying to opt for some serious preventive measures to curb the hate and misinformation on their platform.
