Fact-checkers stop working with Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO: Two leading fact-checking agencies have stopped their work with Facebook, striking a blow to the network’s efforts to fight fake news. The social network had paid the Associated Press and Snopes to combat its misinformation crisis. But both firms confirmed they are no longer checking articles. The AP told the BBC it was in “ongoing conversations” about work in future. Facebook said it was committed to fighting fake news. The company said it would expand its efforts in 2019. “Fighting misinformation takes a multi-pronged approach from across the industry,” a Facebook spokeswoman told the BBC. “We are committed to fighting this through many tactics, and the work that third-party fact-checkers do is a valued and important piece of this effort. “We have strong relationships with 34 fact-checking partners around the world who fact-check content in 16 languages, and we plan to expand the programme this year by adding new partners and languages.” A spokeswoman for the AP told the BBC: “AP constantly evaluates how to best deploy its fact-checking resources, and that includes ongoing conversations with Facebook about opportunities to do important fact-checking work on its platform.” Snopes said it needed to “determine with certainty that our efforts to aid any particular platform are a net positive for our online community, publication and staff.’’ — IANS