Facebook tests community fact checking

Facebook on Tuesday announced plans for a pilot program where community reviewers will evaluate content that is flagged as potentially containing misinformation to assist third-party fact checkers.

Product manager Henry Silverman explained in a blog post that having a representative group of users look over content will provide “additional context” for the third-party fact checkers that will ultimately determine if posts are false.

The reviewers will be hired as contractors through Facebook partners and make no final decisions on content.

The program will “allow fact-checkers to quickly see whether a representative group of Facebook users found a claim to be corroborated or contradicted,” Silverman wrote Tuesday, accelerating the fact checking process.

Facebook partnered with survey firm YouGov to determine requirements for selecting community reviewers to ensure they represent the “diverse viewpoints” of the social media giant’s user base.

The program will be tested in the U.S. “over the coming months.”