Instagram posts to be reviewed by FB fact-checkers

In its efforts to reduce the spread of fake news, conspiracy theories, hate and misinformation on its platform, Instagram will soon start running potentially false posts past Facebook's fact-checking partners and the News Feed Integrity team.

Now images with false information circulating on Facebook would be traced on Instagram using image recognition technology and questionable Instagram posts would be flagged and sent directly to Facebook's fact checkers, Engadget reported on Monday.

With the total global user-base of one billion, the Facebook-owned messaging app has surfaced as a major platform which is being used to circulate fake news and misinformation worldwide.

This news comes within a week of Facebook and Instagram banned far-right extremists like Alex Jones for promoting or engaging in violence and hate.

To tighten the security against false news on its platform, Instagram is also considering adding pop-ups that appear when people search for misinformation, like anti-vaccine content.

"Still, some say that's not enough and want to see labels for photos that have been debunked or warnings that appear when users try to like or comment on those posts," the report said.

Details about the execution of Instagram's plan remain undisclosed as of now.

--IANS

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