Threads, Meta's Twitter-like service and competitor to X, may be distancing itself from politics, but that means it's not trying to tackle the misinformation spreading on social media, especially in the run-up to national elections. isn't it. Following user reports of fact checks being discovered on the network, the company confirmed that it is working with fact-checking organizations to combat false information circulating on Threads, but at this time We haven't fully deployed direct fact-checking of Threads content.
Meta announced in December that fact-checking partners will be able to directly review and rate false content on threads in early 2024. Until then, Meta said it had only been able to match existing fact checks to “nearly identical content on threads.” Looking at the fact-checking reports of users currently posted in the thread, these are the cases: matched It's not a rating, it's more of an expected direct fact check of the thread content that people are watching.
The company acknowledged this to be the case and told TechCrunch that the feature that allows fact checkers to directly evaluate content on threads isn't ready yet, but it's coming soon.
Posted by @culturecrave
View in thread
Users in the thread noticed that warning labels were appearing on posts. In one case, the warning label was displayed as an interstitial on a fake AI-generated video and as a pop-up appearing from the bottom of the screen.
The warning message reads, “False information,” followed by “The same false information was confirmed by our fact checkers in a different thread. There may be slight differences.” “The fact-checker stated that this information has no basis in fact,'' and documented how the fact-checking source reached this conclusion.''
Below this, users can read the name of the fact-checking organization and the source's conclusion (e.g., “false”), along with additional information about the content and why it is false.
Image credits: thread screenshot
An example of this fact check can be found in this thread. This concerns a video that was circulating in Telegram chats claiming to be from the France 24 broadcast. However, this video was never aired or even created. It was generated by AI, both fact-checking agencies said.
In our testing, Fact Check initially hid threaded posts with videos, but provided a “View Post” button to click to view them. If you want to know why it has been hidden due to false information, you can tap on “See Reason” if you wish. However, this feature is a little confusing, as links to fact-checking websites only work on mobile, not desktop, and the informational warnings that appear below the video are small text that you might miss once you've watched them. It feels undeveloped.
Image credits: thread screenshot
Full fact-checking capabilities have not yet been rolled out to Threads, but once implemented, the feature will differentiate Threads from rival X, whose fact-checking is currently largely managed through crowdsourcing. Masu. In X's Community Notes (called Birdwatch when the company was known as his Twitter), independent volunteers fact-check posts and add additional context and corrections. The system's algorithms then try to find consensus among people who don't typically share the same opinions. If both parties agree that fact-checking is warranted, the community note will be published. The X team, on the other hand, cannot edit or change notes. The company website explains. Instead, X will only take action against posts that violate our rules, terms, or privacy policy.
Elon Musk has championed the use of community notes since acquiring the company in 2022. believed it Twitter's former team was said to be guilty of left-wing bias and censorship. However, a ProPublica report found that the community note has not yet been sufficiently expanded to address misinformation about the Israeli-Hamas war being spread on X. Additionally, debunked claims are often spread by verified accounts with blue checks, which increases visibility.
Mehta clearly takes a more cautious approach to news and potential misinformation.
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said last year that Threads was not intended to “amplify news” on the platform, upsetting journalists and news consumers who were looking for an alternative to Twitter. The company also made good on those promises last week, announcing that it would no longer actively display political content in its recommendations on both Threads and Instagram. However, news and politics may still appear in the app's new trending feature, Topics of the Day.