Briefing # 4 – Social Media Fact Checks: Truth Police or Factual Security? – The Facebook update

In the new episode of “The Facebook Briefing”, the handling of false information on Facebook is carefully examined. For many years, an important component has been working with independent and certified fact checkers. But when is a report actually wrong and which standards are applied in the assessment? What criteria are used to select contributions to be reviewed? How do you deal with ambiguities without restricting freedom of expression? And what happens to politicians who repeatedly utter untruths? Host Hendrik Wieduwilt discusses these questions and practical approaches for everyday life with Max Biederbeck, Head of the German Fact-Checking Team at AFP, and Guido Bülow, Head of News Partnerships Central Europe on Facebook.

In addition to DPA and the Correctiv research network, the French news agency AFP has been part of Facebook’s fact-checking program in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since September 2020. Since then, Max Biederbeck and his team of professional journalists have checked numerous contents for their truthfulness, because the number of false reports and conspiracy theories has increased rapidly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. He examines the technical standards of fact checks in detail and gives practical tips on how to deal personally with questionable content.

As Head of News Partnerships Central Europe, Guido Bülow is responsible for working with the independent fact checkers at Facebook. These are selected according to the strict and transparent criteria of the international fact-checking network and are a central component of Facebook’s strategy to combat false information. The media competence of the users is at least as important – this is why Facebook has started a campaign with the WHO and other partners to show people graphically prepared tips on Facebook in order to identify false news about COVID-19.

For praise, criticism, suggestions or questions regarding the podcast, please send an email to [email protected].

Information on the international fact-checking network:

https://ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/

Campaign “Together against false information about COVID-19”:

https://www.facebook.com/combating-misinfo

Misinformation reporting tools:

https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content Link description

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