+
Heroes

64 fact-checking organizations are offering to help Facebook with its fake news problem.

In light of how Facebook may have had an effect on the 2016 election, Mark Zuckerberg has been forced to reflect on the power of his social media platform.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

After election night, an analysis revealed that fake news distributed through Facebook actually outperformed real, fact-checked news in terms of Likes and shares. In fact, the most popular news story leading up to the election was about Pope Francis endorsing Donald Trump. Even though that never happened and the story has been taken down, it was still Liked and shared nearly a million times.


Other popular (and fake) stories claimed to confirm that Hillary Clinton sold weapons to ISIS or insinuated that she murdered an FBI agent. If voters only saw those stories, it's not hard to imagine how their opinions of each candidate might have been influenced before heading to the polls. Since most people get their news from social media, it's entirely likely that was the case.

In a Nov. 12, 2016, Facebook post, however, Zuckerberg claimed that the "fake news" problem is smaller than people think and also something that Facebook is working on.

"Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99% of what people see is authentic," Zuckerberg wrote. He went on to say that of the fake news stories and hoaxes that do exist, many of them aren't even political:

"Our goal is to show people the content they will find most meaningful, and people want accurate news. We have already launched work enabling our community to flag hoaxes and fake news, and there is more we can do here. We have made progress, and we will continue to work on this to improve further."

Letting the Facebook community flag fake news for themselves is certainly a good idea but problematic considering that an alarming number of young people don't even know how to spot fake news when they see it. On top of that, Facebook's media algorithm tends to deepen confirmation biases instead of presenting two sides of a discussion. It's hard to say if Facebook alone is responsible for the "divided nation" you've been hearing about all this time, but it certainly isn't helping.

So what to do?

On Nov. 17, 2016, The International Fact-Checking Network wrote an open letter to Zuckerberg offering its assistance.

Photo by Justin Tallis/Getty Images.

A sort of fact-y Justice League, the International Fact-Checking Network is a group of "independent fact-checking organizations set up to promote accuracy in public debate and the media." It includes fact-checkers from 64 fact-checking organizations across six continents.

In the letter, the organization talked about how open communication will be key in addressing Facebook's fake news problem and that "truth" can not "be the exclusive responsibility of any one organization." The letter notes:

"Many of our organizations already provide training in fact-checking to media organizations, universities and the general public. We would be glad to engage with you about how your editors could spot and debunk fake claims."

Why is all of this significant enough to get the attention of an international squadron of fact-checking superheroes? Because accurate news is important.

There's some pretty dangerous precedent for when fake news is allowed to spread. The letter points out that unchecked claims on the internet have directly led to violence and death more than once. Plus, there's another name for fake news: propaganda.

A few days after the IFCN shared its open letter, Zuckerberg shared an update explaining that Facebook already has several other solutions underway. These solutions include making it easier to call out fake news, working directly with journalists, and yes, working with third-party fact-checking organizations.

Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images.

Will it be enough? Time will tell. There's simply never been a news distribution platform like Facebook before. So fixing the built-in problems is going to be a unique challenge, but an incredibly important one if evidence suggests that it's powerful enough to shape our democracy.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

Keep ReadingShow less
via Google and Freepik

Google's new personal information removal submission page.

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

Keep ReadingShow less

Becca Moore and Raul Torres having margaritas.

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who's known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

44 years ago he became her protector after a terrible act. Today, they've been reunited in love.

Betsy and Irv are finally getting the happy ending they deserve. Together.

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone loves a good love story.

There’s a whole genre of music and movies dedicated to the idea of someone being swept off of their feet after circumstances tried to keep them from their true love. Romance novels could single handedly keep public libraries and bookstores afloat. Everyone loves "love" and the story of Betsy and Irv just takes the cake. Betsy Sailor attended Penn State University as a business major, which was almost unheard of in 1978 and Irv Pankey attended the university while playing football. The pair’s paths never crossed, until an unfortunate incident bonded the two forever.

Keep ReadingShow less
@SopheAlice/TikTok

Best way to travel, really.

As they say, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

This old adage was brought to life in a whole new way after two friends who thought they booked tickets to Budapest, Hungary, instead found themselves heading to Bucharest, Romania.

Just a minor 500-mile difference, but who’s counting?

TikToker @SophAlice posted a video of the pair realizing their mix-up, which went viral and set them off on an impromptu adventure based entirely on the comments they received.
Keep ReadingShow less