Instagram takes its efforts to halt the spread of false information global

Instagram is extending its efforts to flag and halt the spread of information it believes may not be true on the platform beyond the US. The social network began working with third-party fact-checkers in the US to help identify, review and label false information in May of this year. Now, it has announced it is running the same fact-checking service globally.

When content has been rated as false or partly false by a third-party fact-checker, Instagram will reduce its distribution by removing it from Explore and hashtag pages. In addition, it will be labelled so that users can make their own decision as to what to read, trust, and share. When these labels are applied, they will appear to everyone around the world viewing that content, whether it’s in feed, profile, stories, or direct messages.

In addition, if something is rated false or partly false on Facebook, identical content will be automatically labelled as such if and when it’s posted on Instagram (and vice versa). The label will link out to the rating from the fact-checker and provide links to articles from credible sources that debunk the claim(s) made in the post.

To determine which content should be sent to fact-checkers for review, Instagram said it would use a combination of feedback from its community and technology.