Facebook Introduces First Africa Fact-Checking Program in Kenya

Facebook has launched a third-party fact-checking program in Kenya to help people evaluate the accuracy of the news, halt the spread of misinformation, and improve the quality of news that people receive. To achieve this, Facebook is working with Africa Check and French News Agency AFP.

The Facebook Fact-Checking Program

The fact-checking feature will assess local articles, photos, and videos and if a story is false, it will rank lower on the Facebook News Feed thereby reducing its distribution.

Facebook Public Policy Director Ebele Okobi said: “We recognize the potential impact of false news on our platform, and we recognize the role we play in limiting that impact. We believe that a multi-pronged approach is the best strategy, and a key solution is identifying and demoting false news. Once a fact-checker rates a piece of content as false, we are able to reduce its future views by an average of 80 per cent, helping to curb economic incentives and reduce its spread. These partnerships are just one of our many commitments across Africa to improve the quality of the information on the platform.”

Facebook’s Strategic Partner Manager, Media Partnerships, Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy said:

“We are pleased to partner with Africa Check and AFP to expand our fact-checking efforts into Africa, and specifically Kenya. Fighting the spread of misinformation via news articles, photos and videos will help to build a better-informed community.”

News articles from third-party fact-checkers will appear in Related Articles on Facebook. In addition, Facebook users that try to share a story that has been identified as false will receive a notification thereby helping them to decide what is worth sharing.