The catchphrase “fake news,” which sparked amusement during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, is no longer a laughing matter. Now Facebook is taking steps to prove it. On Tuesday, the social media giant announced that it will now ban deepfake video content from its site, according to a new policy update. Deepfake video is content altered so adroitly by artificial intelligence algorithms that it falsely convinces the reader of its authenticity. New, enhanced digital manipulation software that superimposes content can give undue credibility to media that was once readily identifiable as false. Since the swift and widespread circulation of false information in social media has an exponential effect for the misinformed and their followers, Facebook’s ban may offer a glimmer of hope. While some applaud Facebook for taking this step, the decision does raise eyebrows. Facebook’s timing is questionable, given that this week’s announcement came just days before a congressional hearing...

Misinformation continues to be a huge problem online, especially for social media platforms. Previously, Facebook tried tackling it by introducing rules against groups and ads that deliberately spread wrong information about vaccines and political opponents. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. Now, Facebook has introduced updates that include harsher punishments for groups and individuals spreading misinformation across its platforms. In its blog post, Facebook said it plans to reduce the reach of groups that “repeatedly share misinformation”. The company will also add a “click gap” feature to the newsfeed to make sure people see less low-quality content. Lastly, Facebook will partner with the Associated Press, who will serve as a third-party fact-checker. Any content approved by the AP will be expanded on the platform. The moves come as Facebook gears up for another turbulent election season, finds new ways to combat vaccine misinformation, and continues to ban pages associated with...

Twitter has been a hub for spam accounts and bots since the platform’s early years. The problem has plagued the company for a long time and today they’ve introduced another idea that may help stop it. Twitter announced that it is changing its rule on the number of accounts a person can follow per day. The platform tweeted that the limit is moving from 1,000 accounts to 400 in order to stop spammers. Follow, unfollow, follow, unfollow. Who does that? Spammers. So we’re changing the number of accounts you can follow each day from 1,000 to 400. Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine. — Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) April 8, 2019 Twitter is working to impede “churning” accounts and lessen the number of block and spam reports caused by them. Churning accounts are profiles that repeatedly follow and unfollow to increase their follower metrics. Some users questioned the 400 account limit, but Yoel Roth, Twitter’s Head of Integrity, offered some insight in his own string of tweets . “You can’t...

Facebook has removed 22 more pages associated with Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist whose pages have been known to spread misinformation and incite violence. Jones is mostly known for making claims that 9/11 and the Sandy Hook shooting were hoaxes. The company deleted the pages following its latest policy changes that prohibit administrators of removed pages from creating duplicates. Last month, Facebook announced it would make pages more transparent and have third-party fact checkers flagging misleading or incorrect content. The company has relied upon third-party fact-checkers during the 2018 midterm elections to stop the spread of misinformation about polling locations, times and dates. Facebook’s update also covers administrators using other existing pages once their pages have been removed. Not all of the 22 newly removed pages had Jones as a direct administrator; however, there were many common administrators between those pages and the pages removed in August. Facebook began...

Nearly eight months after Facebook removed Britain First–a far-right, fascist organization, from the platform for hate speech and violating its community standards–ads from the group began surfacing on the platform. Facebook recently removed Britain First ads petitioning to stop a mosque from being built in the U.K. The ads were posted during the holiday season on a gaming page by Political Gamers TV, a network dedicated to “gamers worldwide who wish no limits on speech.” Political Gamers TV is calling the removal of the ads “political discrimination” and plans to sue Facebook, according to the BBC. Facebook has made a growing effort to remove accounts, ads, and groups that violate its community standards. In November, Facebook removed alt-right group Proud Boys , its followers, and founder, Gavin McInnes, from using Facebook groups and Instagram after being linked to violent protests in New York. Facebook is one of many social media platforms and other websites cracking down on...

Midterm elections are right around the corner and Twitter is still dealing with misinformation on it’s platform. Friday, the social media giant revealed that it’s removed more than 10,000 accounts linked to targeted misinformation campaigns since late September. Twitter was notified by the Democratic Party and said the removed accounts violated its policies. The social media company and other platforms have been criticized as their websites are used to spread misinformation, propaganda and as a place for hate speech and violence. Last week, Twitter said it lost more than 9 million accounts after the company began aggressively removing robot and spam accounts from the platform. In September Twitter updated its usage policy forbidding the use of dehumanizing language emphasizing its efforts to remove problematic content. The updated policy does not focus on voter suppression and misinformation and the company has been criticized by lawmakers for not proactively removing bot accounts....