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Facebook Adds a Trust Indicator to News Articles

The social network is attempting to combat fake news by allowing you to easily determine how trustworthy a publisher is.

November 16, 2017

Fake news continues to be a big problem and much talked about concern on the Internet. And as we increasingly rely on social networks for our information, it's up to them to ensure it is accurate. Facebook's latest attempt to combat fake news is called Trust Indicators.

Trust Indicators have been developed by The Trust Project at Santa Clara University and headed up by journalist Sally Lehrman. The project is described as "an international consortium of news organizations collaborating to use transparency to build a more trustworthy and trusted press."

Taking on board a "diverse spectrum of public voices" the project created Trust Indicators that determine the quality of a piece of news based on the news outlet, author, and general integrity behind the writing. That way readers know where the news is coming from and can make an informed decision about how trustworthy it is.

As The Verge reports, from Facebook's perspective Trust Indicators will appear as an icon next to news articles. Users can tap the icon to reveal information about the publisher as set out by The Trust Project.

Initially, only a small group of publishers will get the Trust Indicator icon, but Facebook intends to expand it over time to include any and all publishers who qualify. If it works, it means news posted on Facebook will be much more trustworthy, or at the very least users can more easily decide how much they trust it.

While Facebook may be leading the way on this initiative, Google, Bing, and Twitter have all agreed to use Trust Indicators in future.

Further Reading

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About Matthew Humphries

Matthew Humphries
Matthew is PCMag's UK-based editor and news reporter. Prior to joining the team, he spent 14 years writing and editing content on our sister site Geek.com and has covered most areas of technology, but is especially passionate about games tech. Alongside PCMag, he's a freelance video game designer. Matthew holds a BSc degree in Computer Science from Birmingham University and a Masters in Computer Games Development from Abertay University.

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