Facebook Pays For Fake News Ads In UK Press

Facebook has broadened its campaign to raise awareness about fake news, by publishing adverts in the UK press.
The ads, in papers including The Times, The Guardian and Daily Telegraph, carry a list of 10 things to look out for when deciding if a story is genuine.

They include checking the article date and website address, as well as making sure it isn't intended as satire.

Facebook is under fresh political pressure to tackle fake news in the run up to the UK general election. Meanwhile, a BBC Panorama investigation to be broadcast has found the social network played a decisive role in both the US election and Britain's EU referendum last year. 

Danger
The platform said it had already removed "tens of thousands" of fake Facebook accounts and that systems were now monitoring the repeated posting of the same content or a sharp increase in messaging. Accounts displaying this activity are then flagged, it added.

Facebook is also decreasing the ranking of stories that people tend to read but not share.

Last month Conservative MP Damian Collins asked Facebook to tackle fake news in the run up to the UK general election on 8 June.

"The danger is, if for many people the main source of news is Facebook and if the news they get on Facebook is mostly fake news, they could be voting based on lies," he told the Guardian newspaper. 

Fake Accounts
In a report released in April, Facebook admitted it had seen political propaganda deliberately spread on its site.

"We have observed many actions by fake account operators that could only be performed by people with language skills and a basic knowledge of the political situation in the target countries, suggesting a higher level of coordination and forethought," it said in the document.

It added that "several" cases during the 2016 US Presidential election had required action.
The spread of fake news across social media was accused by some of influencing the US presidential election in 2016. 
Facebook has not gone so far as to accept that but its latest report acknowledges that there was some activity which "required action".

With the UK election there is added pressure to crack down on it in Britain.
The creators of fake news make money because of the clicks on the ads they carry. Google and Facebook say they are committed to blocking them from using ad services but they are still popping up. It's interesting and perhaps a sign of Facebook's older membership that it has chosen traditional print media to help spread its message in the UK.

The ten tips are sound advice and will be well-known to journalists already as standard checks. The difficulty is that if the link pops up in your Facebook news feed because it's been shared by one of your friends or relatives, you're likely to be more inclined to accept it at face value.

The power of word-of-mouth as a marketing tool is well known to both marketing professionals and scammers alike.

BBC

You Might Also Read:

Google Acts Against Fake News:

Facebook’s Shifting Attitude To Controversy:

Facebook & Google Are Killing Newspapers:

Big Data Analysis – Now Used For Politics…:
 

 

« National Security Chief Talks About The UK’s Cyber Dangers
The Reality is Everyone Hacks… Everyone »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North IT (North Infosec Testing) are an award-winning provider of web, software, and application penetration testing.

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Our Supplier Directory lists 7,000+ specialist cyber security service providers in 128 countries worldwide. IS YOUR ORGANISATION LISTED?

Resecurity

Resecurity

Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence.

Radisys

Radisys

Radisys offers software, products, integrated systems, and professional services for communication service providers and telecom solution vendors.

Cologix

Cologix

Cologix provides reliable, secure, scalable data center and interconnection solutions from 24 prime interconnection locations across 9 strategic North American edge markets.

LiveVault

LiveVault

LiveVault delivers fully automated, turnkey, backup over the Internet or a private network connection for uninterrupted remote data protection.

Watchdata Technologies

Watchdata Technologies

Watchdata Technologies is a pioneer in digital authentication and transaction security.

Taqnia Cyber

Taqnia Cyber

Taqnia Cyber specializes in the fields of cyber security, intelligence, operations, and training. It offers its services and consultations to both public and private sectors.

National Authority for Electronic Certification and Cyber Security (AKCESK) - Albania

National Authority for Electronic Certification and Cyber Security (AKCESK) - Albania

AKCESK ensures security for trusted services, in particular reliability and security in electronic transactions between citizens, businesses and public authorities.

Syskode Technologies

Syskode Technologies

Sykode Technologies is a next-generation global technology company offering an integrated portfolio of advisory services, products and solutions in areas including AI, IoT and Cyber Security.

Brighterion

Brighterion

Brighterion solutions stop payment and acquirer fraud, reduce credit risk and delinquency, fight financial crime, prevent healthcare fraud, waste and abuse, and more.

Forum Systems

Forum Systems

Forum Systems is a global leader in API Security Management with industry-certified, patented, and proven products deployed in the most rigorous and demanding customer environments.

Tetra Tech

Tetra Tech

Tetra Tech is a cybersecurity leader with extensive experience in supporting enterprise-wide programs and systems across multiple business lines from industrial control systems to health IT.

New Net Technologies (NNT)

New Net Technologies (NNT)

NNT SecureOps provides ultimate protection against all forms of cyberattack and data breaches by automating the essential security controls.

Corellium

Corellium

Corellium are dedicated to supporting our peers in the ARM community who seek to build more secure, performant, and accessible software and devices.

Netox

Netox

Netox is a comprehensive IT service provider that combines IT support services, IT solutions and specialist services; specializing in cybersecurity solutions.

NetApp

NetApp

The NetApp portfolio includes intelligent cloud services, data services, and storage infrastructure that helps organizations manage applications and data everywhere across hybrid cloud environments.

Acumen

Acumen

Acumen's cyber security engineers protect your critical systems, in critical moments. We are here when you need us most.

DNSFilter

DNSFilter

DNSFilter is the most accurate threat detection and content filtering tool on the market today.