Facebook Journalism Project: Learn how to spot fake news

Facebook came under a lot of criticism during the last US presidential election for allowing the spread of fake information on its site. There has also been a year-long debate about presenting news to users in a biased way on social media. Now, Facebook is looking to improve its relationship with media companies through the launch of its Journalism Project.

One of the aims of the Journalism Project is to educate users on what news sources to trust by working with third party organization to promote news literacy.  The company will be working with  “The News Literacy project” to generate series of ads in a bid to sensitize the public.  Facebook will also work on reducing hoaxes on its site.

Other objectives of the project include, collaborative development of news product by forging deeper relationship with different news organization and working with partners including 360, Live and Instant Articles to create new storytelling formats. The Journalism Project will also provide training and tools for journalists through e-learning courses and aid eyewitness media.

“We know that our community values sharing and discussing ideas and news, and as a part of our service, we care a great deal about making sure that a healthy news ecosystem and journalism can thrive. That’s why today we’re announcing a new program to establish stronger ties between Facebook and the news industry.

We will be collaborating with news organizations to develop products, learning from journalists about ways we can be a better partner and working with publishers and educators on how we can equip people with the knowledge they need to be informed readers in the digital age,”  says Facebook product director Fidjo Simo  in a blog post.