After a barrage of criticisms and accusations of bias and the never ending controversy over fake news, Facebook has advertised for “news credibility specialists” to fact-check content which appears on its platform. As per the reports of the UK-based publisher The Guardian, Facebook posted the job listings for positions which would be at the Menlo Park headquarters of Facebook.
Facebook to hire “News Credibility Specialists” to deal with its Fake news issue
Facebook fired its Trending News team a few years ago and replaced it with algorithms to suppress fake news and hoax propaganda on its platform, but unfortunately, it did not work. The fake news issue only grew in the past few years instead of decreasing and the social network has come under a lot of problems as a result.
Now, the company has decided to handle the problem directly by bringing in new staff called “the news credibility specialists.” Facebook had two contract positions open for news credibility specialists on its job site, one of which listed fluent Spanish as a requirement. A job listing read, “We’re seeking individuals with a passion for journalism, who believe in Facebook’s mission of making the world more connected.”
The listing, which has been removed now, further said that the selected specialists will be tasked with developing a deep expertise in Facebook’s News Credibility Program and will be conducting investigations into violations of predefined policies. Facebook would ask the news credibility specialists to assist in creating a list of credible news organizations. This list could be used by the social network for several features on its platform, including an advertising system, newsfeed, etc.
Facebook: we’re working hard to monitor Fake News
The company’s prior announcement that it was shutting down its trending topics section, coupled with its efforts to hire news credibility specialists, appear to be part of its ongoing effort to suppress the spread of fake news and hoax propaganda on its platform.
In an interview with the Guardian, a Facebook spokesperson said that the company was working on how to more effectively identify and differentiate news and news sources across its platform.
Additionally, Facebook is rolling out a new feature, called Archive of Ads with Political Content, in which users can visit the archive and find ads with political or issue content that an advertiser has run in the United States within the previous seven years. Furthermore, advertisers who want to run ads with political content in the U.S. will be required to verify their location and identity in order to advertise.
