Facebook Starts Labeling Pages Of 'State-Controlled' Media

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2020) US social media giant Facebook starting Thursday begins labeling pages and posts of media that are either under full or partial editorial control of their government.

"We want to help people better understand who's behind the news they see on Facebook. Several months ago, we announced our plan to label media outlets that are wholly or partially under the editorial control of their government, and today we're starting to apply labels to those state-controlled media outlets," Facebook said.

According to the tech giant, greater transparency into these publishers is needed "because they combine the influence of a media organization with the strategic backing of a state." People, it went on, should be aware if a publication they read "may be under the influence of a government.

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Later in the year, the social network will also start labeling advertisements from such media outlets. In the US, all such advertisements will be blocked "out of an abundance of caution" to protect the country from "foreign influence in the public debate ahead of the November 2020 election."

To determine whether a news outlet is under editorial control by a government, Facebook will look into how the organization defines itself and its mission, as well as into its funding sources and information about its leadership and staff.

According to Facebook, a news outlet will be able to submit an appeal if it believes it has been labeled "in error."