Facebook’s UK fact-checking service is 6 months in. What’s the verdict?

It’s been six months since fact-checking got real on Facebook in the UK.

In Jan. 2019, the social media giant partnered up with Full Fact, a British charitable organisation that specialises in fact-checking, with the aim of obliterating fake news on the platform in the UK. 

So, what are the results so far?

On Tuesday, Full Fact published a 46-page report breaking down their findings, which included a list of “recommendations” for ways Facebook could improve their third party fact-checking programme.

Before we get to that, how does the service work? As the report explains, fact-checkers work through a queue of content that has been flagged by users as “possibly false” on Facebook. Items are prioritised based on factors like whether or not they could cause potential harm to readers — e.g. false health advice — and how quickly they’re spreading on the platform. Fact-checkers go through the list, verifying the content in any way they can, before attaching a report and one of nine possible ratings: “False, Mixture, False Headline, True, Not eligible, Satire, Opinion, Prank generator, and Not rated.”

The individual fact-checking reports written by Full Fact — they’ve published 96 as of Jul. 1 — are all viewable online. They range from reports on the legality of driving while wearing flip flops in the UK to the safety of giving your dog ice cubes in hot weather.

As part of its latest summary, Full Fact has set out the following 10 recommendations for ways the team thinks Facebook’s fact-checking programme could be improved, including a push to expand the service to cover Instagram content.

Here’s the list:

1. Continue developing tools that can better identify potentially harmful false content including repeated posts.

2. Provide more data on shares over time for flagged content.

3. Add a “Mixture” rating which does not reduce the reach of content.

4. Add an “Unsubstantiated” rating.

5. Add a “More context needed” rating.

6. Add a rating for humorous posts other than satire or pranks

7. Develop clearer guidance on how to differentiate between several claims within a single post.

8. Share more data with fact checkers about the reach of our fact checks.

9. The Third Party Fact Checking programme should expand to fully include Instagram content.

10. Be explicit about plans for machine learning.

Full Fact has a final recommendation, too, which is aimed outside Facebook itself, squarely at the UK government. 

“The government should review responsibilities for providing authoritative public information on topics where harm may result from inaccurate information and fill gaps,” it reads.

The described aim of the fact-checking service is to hold specific public bodies responsible for dispelling misinformation that is in the public interest — such as major health concerns, or the introduction of 5G technology in the UK.

“Online misinformation is a serious problem that causes real harms to peoples lives, health and wellbeing,” said Full Face chief executive Will Moy. “As this report shows, Facebook’s Third Party Fact Checking programme is a valuable first step in tackling misinformation online, but Facebook needs to take further steps.

“We want to see Facebook sharing more data with us so we can improve and better assess the impact we’re having as fact checkers, and we would like to see this programme expanded to Facebook’s other platforms where the risks posed by inaccurate information are high.”

“…a valuable first step in tackling misinformation online, but Facebook needs to take further steps.”

Julia Bain, integrity partnerships at Facebook, said in a statement that many of the recommendations in the report were being “actively pursued” by the company.

“Our third-party fact-checking programme is an important part of our multi-pronged approach to fighting misinformation. We welcome feedback that draws on the experiences and first-hand knowledge of organisations like Full Fact, which has become a valued partner in the UK,” she said.

“We know there’s always room to improve. This includes scaling the impact of fact-checks through identical content matching and similarity detection, continuing to evolve our rating scale to account for a growing spectrum of types of misinformation, piloting ways to utilise fact-checkers’ signals on Instagram and more. We also agree that there’s a need to explore additional tactics for fighting false news at scale.”

Bain said Facebook would continue to collaborate with Full Fact along with 50 other fact-checking partners around the globe.

Obviously, with just six months of operation under its belt, the partnership is still in its relatively early stages. However, it will be interesting to see what additional steps Facebook takes to address Full Fact’s recommendations in the coming months.