Facebook is known as a hub for news and information, most of the users are now using Facebook for their daily dose of news. Facebook is quickly becoming an easy replacement for communication, entertainment, education and information and this is exactly the reason it is an ideal place for audience manipulation. So far Facebook has encountered some of the biggest scandals and faced a lot of problems from government, management, and users but one of the leading problems still remain uncontrollable spreading of rumors and fake news.
Two recent incidents have forced Facebook to take this problem seriously and address it publicly. One of the indecent is a viral video of Nancy Pelosi slurring her words during a political talk. The video was manipulated and edited by changing the pitch, slowing down the speed of words and a few other simple techniques whereas the second video is of the CEO of Facebook appreciating an organization called Spectre.
According to the company, Nancy Pelosi video was simply edited and it went viral within a few hours. Usually, Facebook has a way of dealing with the fake information and they don’t usually remove the video or information all-together but instead, they flag it so the reader can tell that the news was fake. However, in the case of Nancy Pelosi video millions of users had already reacted and engaged to the video before Facebook could flag the video.
Mark Zuckerberg in an interview to The Aspen Institute announced that they will take this problem seriously and they will now first differentiate fake news and deepfakes and then tackle both according to their policy. Deepfakes are usually very well designed and there is better editing and management behind a conspiracy however fake news are relatively easier to cater. Previously deepfakes were just targeted to bigger celebrity or politicians and they already have a whole team of social media and marketing working on their imagery, which means these teams not only detect the problem but also cater this as soon as they can. However, recently things have taken some surprising turns and now deepfakes and fake news are also targeted towards the general public. This is the major reason Facebook is now trying to take the matter more seriously than before. Moreover, the policies are now well defined and more focused but Facebook is still struggling with this issue because of their already existing policy of promoting freedom of expression.
Read next: Instagram has not yet taken down an altered video of Mark Zuckerberg as ‘damage is done’
Two recent incidents have forced Facebook to take this problem seriously and address it publicly. One of the indecent is a viral video of Nancy Pelosi slurring her words during a political talk. The video was manipulated and edited by changing the pitch, slowing down the speed of words and a few other simple techniques whereas the second video is of the CEO of Facebook appreciating an organization called Spectre.
According to the company, Nancy Pelosi video was simply edited and it went viral within a few hours. Usually, Facebook has a way of dealing with the fake information and they don’t usually remove the video or information all-together but instead, they flag it so the reader can tell that the news was fake. However, in the case of Nancy Pelosi video millions of users had already reacted and engaged to the video before Facebook could flag the video.
- Also read: Majority of the Americans are in favor of Regulating Altered Videos and Images on Internet [Survey]
Mark Zuckerberg in an interview to The Aspen Institute announced that they will take this problem seriously and they will now first differentiate fake news and deepfakes and then tackle both according to their policy. Deepfakes are usually very well designed and there is better editing and management behind a conspiracy however fake news are relatively easier to cater. Previously deepfakes were just targeted to bigger celebrity or politicians and they already have a whole team of social media and marketing working on their imagery, which means these teams not only detect the problem but also cater this as soon as they can. However, recently things have taken some surprising turns and now deepfakes and fake news are also targeted towards the general public. This is the major reason Facebook is now trying to take the matter more seriously than before. Moreover, the policies are now well defined and more focused but Facebook is still struggling with this issue because of their already existing policy of promoting freedom of expression.
Read next: Instagram has not yet taken down an altered video of Mark Zuckerberg as ‘damage is done’
