In Brazil, Facebook (still) seems to let a lot of false information pass through its network.
A critical situation in a country which is preparing a presidential election, to say the least.
Facebook and its fake news
For a few years now, the social network Facebook has been singled out for spreading a lot of false information, the spread of which is sometimes colossal. As Brazil prepares for important presidential elections in October, the social network is once again accused of letting various messages fake news despite numerous warning signs, according to GlobalWitness.
The organization has just made public the results of a study recently carried out in Brazil, in particular with a view to testing the moderation of the American network. And as much to say that the latter does not seem to shine by its effectiveness…
The elections in danger in Brazil?
Indeed, in his study, GlobalWitness published various erroneous information regarding the upcoming election, before promoting the publications in question using an account located outside Brazilian territory. Of the fake news rather obvious, which included a wrong date for the poll and false information about the vote.
Logic would have dictated that the sponsorship of the publications would be immediately refused by Facebook and, in an ideal world, that the publications in question would also be withdrawn. However, not only GlobalWitness was able to continue using the Facebook account created for the occasion, but the advertisements were also validated and highlighted on the platform.
This raises serious questions about the effectiveness of moderation on Facebook, which obviously fails to identify false information that is quite obvious, not to mention the possibility of paying to display this same erroneous information in the eyes of the whole world. It remains to be seen to what extent Facebook will influence the results of the upcoming election on October 2, which will oppose incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro to ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Source : The world
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