Just one year after introducing its “fake news” red flags, Facebook has discontinued the tool after having to face the fact that it just didn’t work. In fact, many users were sharing articles tagged by the social media giant as a result of their being tagged. Facebook, it appears, is does not have the credibility it seems to have thought it had.
The “Disputed” article flagging feature — introduced in December 2016 — was designed to stop the spread of articles the leadership of Facebook considers as misinformation. Of course, Facebook — with its record for manipulating users’ newsfeeds, censoring posts expressing views differing from those of its leadership, and violating users’ privacy — is not, perhaps, the best judge of what is and is not “fake news.” It is certainly not the sole arbiter of truth.
In announcing its decision to ditch the “fake news” red flags, Facebook Product Manager Tessa...