Facebook has teamed up with Fatabyyano, its third-party fact-checking partner in the Middle East, to launch the #ThinkBeforeYouShare campaign.
The campaign aims to educate and inform people on how to detect potential false news and misinformation, especially about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Through the campaign, Facebook and Fatabyyano have developed a dedicated website that will ask people to challenge the information they see on posts. They are encouraged to do so through three informative sections that touch on critical topics around misinformation: How to think like a fact-checker; the differences between a credible and a non-credible source of information; and the dangers of misinformation and the spreading of false news.
Fares Akkad, Director of Media Partnerships for Facebook’s Growth Markets (LATAM, APAC, MEA), said, “Now, more than ever, we are working to connect people to accurate sources, and show less misinformation, especially about COVID-19.”
“We have made significant investments to remove accounts and content that violate our Community Standards or Ad Policies; reduce the distribution of false news, and inform people by giving them more context on the posts they see, so people can decide what to read, trust, and share,” he added, “With the help of our regional partner Fatabyyano, and through this new campaign, we are underscoring our commitment as we look to expand our fight against misinformation.”
The dedicated website will also host interactive content including a quiz that is designed to convey accurate information to the public on a number of different topics by asking users to mark statements as true or false. This quiz presents common statements and facts that users generally come across on multiple platforms aiming to spread awareness on these misleading messages and information.
Dr Moath Al Thaher, CEO & Founder, Fatabyyano, said, “We are pleased to partner with Facebook in our efforts to extend our fact-checking initiatives throughout the Middle East. As a locally established entity, information verification of news sources across our region remains our utmost priority.”
He also said, “In light of the spread of misinformation seen across Facebook’s platforms, we are dedicated to minimising the distribution of false news in the Arabic language, and giving the power back to people to take informed decisions before hitting that ‘share’ or ‘forward’ button.”
