Published: 09:49, February 13, 2020 | Updated: 07:58, June 6, 2023
Facebook starts fact-checking partnership with Reuters
By Reuters

Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it has reached an agreement with news agency Reuters, a unit of Thomson Reuters Corp, to fact-check content posted on the social media platform and its photo-sharing app Instagram.

Under pressure to remove fake news on its platform ahead of the US presidential elections, Facebook started a US pilot program in December to detect misinformation faster.

Under pressure to remove fake news on its platform ahead of the US presidential elections, Facebook started a US pilot program in December to detect misinformation faster

ALSO READ: EU agrees tough line on digital currencies like Facebook's Libra

The move came after US intelligence agencies said that social media platforms were used in a Russian cyber-influence campaign aimed at interfering in the 2016 US election – a claim Moscow has denied.

A newly created unit at Reuters will fact-check user-generated photos, videos, headlines and other content for Facebook’s US audience in both English and Spanish, the news agency said in a statement. Financial terms were not disclosed.

READ MORE: Australia tells Facebook, Google to commit to competition rules

Facebook works with seven other fact-checking partners in the United States, including Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.