At the start of the hot phase in the federal election campaign, Facebook presented an expansion of its campaign against false information. In cooperation with the Federal Agency for Civic Education and several media companies, attempts at manipulation in the run-up to the federal election are to be made more difficult, the company announced on Thursday in Berlin. For the first time, there are also offers that are specifically aimed at older and younger users. In addition, fact checks are made possible on WhatsApp.
With the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Facebook is launching a campaign aimed at increasing citizens’ media literacy. “We give practical advice there on how fake news can be identified and link to them Federal headquarters website It’s your choice“, explained the company.
An Instagram campaign by the independent fact checker of “Correctiv” is aimed at younger users. It also contains tips on how to identify and report false information. At the same time, however, basic knowledge about the choice should also be imparted.
Videos for older users
In cooperation with the German Press Agency (dpa) and Dagmar Hirche, entrepreneur and founder of the association “Ways out of loneliness”, Facebook wants to present a three-part video series on the subject of false information. It should be aimed specifically at older users. A member of the dpa fact checker team will give advice on how to deal with false information from the areas of politics, news and health.
To expand its fact check program, Facebook is also cooperating with the French news agency AFP to offer fact checks on WhatsApp. For this purpose, Facebook will open the technical interface of the chat service, the Whatsapp Business API, for the AFP and Correctiv fact checkers. People affected by disinformation can send a message to the fact checker and then receive a verification of the alleged facts back.
The Federal Agency for Civic Education is also again offering the Wahl-O-Mat to help you make decisions about the upcoming federal election. As usual, everyone on the offer can answer a number of questions and finally get information about which party or the respective election manifesto best suits their own answers.
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