The spreading of fake news online - 20th January 2025

The two huge technology companies, Meta and Apple, are changing how they manage fake news stories and misinformation. And it's making people extremely anxious.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, has said it will no longer work with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). Instead, they'll use a 'community notes' system, which lets users comment on how accurate or inaccurate information is.

Australia, Brazil and other countries have been shocked by the decision. The IFCN has stated that certain countries will be unsafe due to false information, especially at sensitive times such as elections.

Mark Zuckerberg, who set up Meta, started the fact-checking process in 2016 after Trump was first elected as President. Zuckerberg then believed misinformation and foreign powers had helped bring about Trump's success. Some see Zuckerberg's latest step as a political one, as he attempts to improve his relationship with the President.

Meanwhile, Apple Intelligence is causing similar problems due to the way it creates summaries of news headlines from the internet. These headlines are taken from different media organisations. However, issues within the system have produced a variety of inaccurate headlines. These are said, wrongly, to come from media companies like the BBC.

One 'BBC' story described the international tennis star Rafael Nadal. It said he'd told the world he was gay. Another story told how the criminal Luigi Mangione had killed himself.

As the public needs to be provided with true information, Apple's been requested to close its new Apple Intelligence feature. While the technology giant has repeatedly refused to do so, it has finally given in.