Facebook fact-checks fake viral video of US Speaker

Instead of removing it from the platform, Facebook has decided to show fact-check results of a viral tampered video, slowed down intentionally to show US Speaker Nancy Pelosi talk in a slurred tongue.

"First, the video will appear alongside a related article from a third-party fact-checking website which will point out that the video is indeed altered and secondly, while the post will remain hosted and available, Facebook claims it will limit its reach on the platform, though by what amount or exact means remains unknown," Gizmodo reported on Friday.

The 79-year-old Speaker of the House of Representatives has often been targeted by US President Donald Trump and his allies. The viral video in question was re-shared on Facebook by Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well.

The video was first posted on a page called Politics Watchdog that did not mention that the video was edited in any way for any purpose. On this page alone, Pelosi's video gather over 2.5 million views.

However, Facebook seems to be depending on loopholes in its policies to get out of the situation that puts the app in spot for providing a platform for spreading misinformation.

"As a Facebook representative explained in an email to Gizmodo, there's no policy that information posted on the platform necessarily has to be factual," the report added.

In order to check the spread of hate and misinformation on its platform, Facebook has been partnering with more fact-checking organisations.

Earlier in April, the social networking giant also decided to hire journalists to tackle the issue prevailing on its platform.

--IANS

rp/mag/