Social media network Facebook has encountered a massive problem regarding the rise of fake news. As a first step in combating the spread of false information on the network, Facebook has begun issuing a new tool that asks users to aid in identifying what may or may not be false.
According to The Guardian, at least three different Facebook users have encountered and reported a new survey that has been attached to the bottom of a news story. The survey asks the user to rank how high or how low they think the news piece uses misleading language in its headline.
It is still uncertain at this point what action Facebook is taking against news stories with misleading text or if the social media giant has any plan of action at all. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has not given an official statement regarding these surveys and what the results may bring about.
Misleading link text becomes an even bigger problem due to the structure of Facebook's user interface. Research based on social media sharing has shown 60 percent of shares originate from people who have never even clicked the link, meaning they have initiated or joined discussions after merely reading the headline instead of the content of the news article.
The primary concern, which Zuckerberg stated last month in an official post regarding the matter, was that Facebook was meant to allow users to freely share their opinions and post what they felt was appropriate. Restricting the rights of its users would go against what the social media network stood for in terms of freedom of speech.
One of the most recent complications that have risen due to the spread of fake news is the Pizzagate incident. As reported by the New York Times, this incident revolved around false news on social media causing many to believe that a pizzeria in Washington D.C. was a base of a child abuse ring allegedly run by Hillary Clinton and her campaign chief, John D. Podesta.