The spreading of fake news online - 20th January 2025

Decisions taken by two of the major tech companies are likely to increase the number of fake news stories that the public are exposed to.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced it will cease its work with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). In its place, they'll adopt a system of 'community notes' similar to X, allowing members to comment on the accuracy, or inaccuracy, of information.

A number of countries, including Australia and Brazil, have expressed their shock at the announcement. According to the IFCN, some countries are "highly vulnerable to misinformation". This puts them at risk of experiencing difficulties and even disorder, particularly at election time.

Fact checking was introduced by Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO. It followed the first election of Trump in 2016, after it was suspected that foreign powers and disinformation had contributed to the win.

Since Zuckerberg was then highly critical of Trump, this recent announcement is seen by some as a way to win the President's approval. Director of the IFCN, Angie Drobnic Holan, explained the decision was taken after "extreme political pressure", adding that it "will hurt social media users who are looking for accurate, reliable information."

Attention's also being given to Apple Intelligence, which puts together summaries of news headlines taken from a variety of media sources. Faults in this new system have resulted in misleading or false headlines, which have been inaccurately credited to respected media organisations.

Luigi Mangione, who was arrested last year for shooting a top-level business man in New York, was mistakenly said to have killed himself in a summary apparently from the BBC. Another post incorrectly reported that Rafael Nadal had announced he was gay.

With the public's right to the truth at risk, Apple's been repeatedly asked to remove its AI feature until its accuracy is improved. It has finally agreed to do so.