Instagram Curbs Fake News By Fact-Checking, Labelling 'False' Content

Amidst the epidemics of fake news and misinformation, the photo-sharing platform Instagram is likely to declare wartime against these long-time problems as it started a joint program in the US with third-party fact-checkers in May. To be specific, social media will level up its abilities to recognize, review, and label any information that doesn’t stand for the truths.

According to a recent report from FirstPost, Instagram now intends to expand this fact-checking feature across the globe in search of supporting organizations when they need to analyze and evaluate information on the Internet.

Instagram users can spot fact-checker pop-ups on the Stories section. In addition to this, posts containing factually incorrect content will also be detected. For example, an image will get blurred and branded as “False Information”. However, users can figure out the reasons for why this warning appears by tapping on an option below it. The option also allows them to check the content authenticity, details related to the fact-checker, and so on.

This really makes sense. If the content is categorized as false information, its distribution will gradually be prohibited from Hashtag and Explore pages. The label, as a matter of fact, will be visibly attached to those posts everywhere, from direct messages, stories, profiles, or people’s feed.

Instagram is said to take advantage of the “image-matching technology” to not only identify and label fake content but also mitigate the spread of misinformation. Users can click on the links under the label to navigate to genuine authentic articles and sources to learn why it’s labeled “fake.” Put the technology aside, Instagram will call on support from the community to curb fake news effectively.