Facebook removes 7M posts for false coronavirus news; to implement strict rules against it

Facebook has removed seven million posts in second quarter that were deemed to have provided false information about COVID 19. The content removed included promotion of fake preventative measures and exaggerated cures for the novel coronavirus. The data was released as part of its sixth Community Standards Enforcement Report.

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Facebook removes fake news posts from its platform

Facebook is the world’s biggest social network and therefore has many users exchanging and spreading information with each other. However, Facebook executives said that Facebook would invite proposals from experts this week to audit the metrics used in the report beginning in the year 2021. Facebook has released the data about it had removed content from the site as part of its sixth Community Standards Enforcement Reports.

“Over the past year, we’ve been working with auditors internally to assess how the metrics we report can be audited most effectively. This week, we are issuing a Request For Proposal (RFP) to external auditors to conduct an independent audit of these metrics. We hope to conduct this audit starting in 2021 and have the auditors publish their assessments once completed.”

Facebook had introduced it in 2018 along with more stringent decorum rules in response to a backlash over its lax approach to police content on its platform. Facebook committed to the audit during a July ad boycott over hate speech practices.

The company has removed over 22.5 million posts from its platform on account of hate speech. In the first it had removed 9.6 million which in the second quarter increased to 22.5 million. The dramatic increase is attributed to improvements in detection technology.

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Facebook has also deleted 8.7 million posts connected to ‘terrorist’ organisations, compared with 6.3 million in the prior period. However, the company does not disclose changes in the prevalence of hateful content on its platforms. Facebook said in its blog that it relied more heavily on automation for reviewing content starting in April. It was so because it had fewer people to review content due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

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This resulted in less action being taken against content relate to self-harm and child sexual exploitation, as reported by Reuters. Reportedly, Facebook said that it was expanding its hate speech policy and it would be including “content depicting blackface, or stereotypes about Jewish people controlling the world”.

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