META has unveiled a safety campaign awareness tagged ‘Know What’s Real’ to shed light on in-built product features and safety measures present on its apps.
The social media firm disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.
It stated that the awareness campaign aims to enlighten users on spotting and addressing misinformation on WhatsApp and Instagram by promoting digital best practices and highlighting available safety tools.
On WhatsApp, there is the block and report feature as well as forward labels that help users to identify misinformation and prevent its further spread, it said. It noted that it encourages people to verify inaccurate information via fact-checking organisations on WhatsApp Channels.
Meta’s Director & Head of India Public Policy, Shivnath Thukral, noted that the campaign, which would span for eight weeks, is part of Meta’s effort to curb the spread of falsehood online.
“The campaign is an extension of our ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of misinformation and serves as a simple safety guide to educate people on the role they can play to combat it,” Thukral said.
He added that Meta has invested in programmes which included the setting up of independent fact-checkers that would work to debunk false claims and help citizens access accurate information.
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On Instagram, Meta said it teams up with a robust network of fact-checkers to verify the accuracy of information shared on the platform.
“If something false, like deepfakes, is found, they put warning labels in the app on the post to tell people that it’s not accurate.
“We also limit the reach of content that is labeled “False” by our fact-checkers, so less people can see it.
“Through the campaign, Meta is encouraging people to not forward or share any inauthentic content and instead report the same to the Grievance Officer or any of the independent fact-checking partners to verify the information,” the statement added.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected].
