Bhopal: Social media giant, Facebook has claimed that it has deployed new tools and teams, working round the clock to tackle false news and better detect inauthentic behaviour, ahead of Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. The teams at Facebook are focussing primarily on safety and security, including defending against election interference, preventing abuse and making sure people have more control of their information.
Through improved AI machine learning, thousands of pages, groups, and accounts involved in coordinated inauthentic behaviour have been removed. Shivnath Thukral, Public Policy Director, India and South Asia, Facebook, said, “As Madhya Pradesh, one of the largest states in India goes to elections, we have devised a strategy to fight misinformation and are doing every bit to ensure that a safe and secure election process is followed.” “Ahead of Election Day, we will serve the community with a polling day reminder, which will appear at the top of their News Feed,” he added.
A ‘Facebook Cyber Security Guide for Politicians and Political Parties’ has been shared with 850+ policy makers. The training guide helps candidates and political parties understand the platform and tools at their disposal, with a focus on best security practices. As a part of checking misinformation on the platform, Facebook also uses Third Party Fact Checking as a tool in partnership with independent fact checkers.
Facebook is expanding its network of fact-checking partners in India. Reinforcing its commitment to fighting the spread misinformation and improve the quality of the news people find online, Facebook in India partnered with BOOM Live and more recently with Agence France Presse (AFP) across Hindi and Bengali in addition to English.
