Facebook expands fact-checking initiative to new countries
San Francisco, June 22 : Facebook has announced to expand its fact-checking programme to new countries that aims to fight spread of fake news on its platform.
The social media giant now has the fact-checking programme running in 14 countries and plans to scale to more countries by the end of the year.
"These certified, independent fact-checkers rate the accuracy of stories on Facebook, helping us reduce the distribution of stories rated as false by an average of 80 per cent," Tessa Lyons, Product Manager at Facebook, said in a blog post on Thursday.
In India, Facebook already is in partnership with a Mumbai-based fact checking organisation called Boom.
Like other Facebook fact-checking partners, Boom is certified through the International Fact-Checking Network, a non-partisan international fact checking network at Poynter.
Facebook has also expanded its test to fact-check photos and videos to four countries.
"The test includes those that are manipulated (a video that is edited to show something that did not really happen) or taken out of context (a photo from a previous tragedy associated with a different, present day conflict)," the company said.
Machine learning is helping Facebook identify duplicates of debunked stories.
"We're going to start working with our fact-checking partners to use Schema.orgas aClaim Review', an open-source framework used by various technology companies and fact-checking organisations," Lyons said.
To help curb foreign interference in public discourse, Facebook said it is going to use Machine Learning to help identify and demote foreign Pages that are likely to spread financially-motivated hoaxes to people in other countries.
In April, Facebook announced a new elections research commission to help provide independent research about the role of social media in elections, as well as democracy more generally.
"We're currently working with the commission to develop privacy-protected data sets, which will include a sample of links that people engage with on Facebook," the company added.
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First-ever life-size Vivekananda statue in US unveiled in Seattle
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New York (PTI): The first-ever life-size statue of Swami Vivekananda in the US was unveiled in Seattle, honouring the renowned Indian philosopher and spiritual leader.
The life-size bronze statue, installed at the busy Westlake Square in downtown Seattle, is the first such installation hosted by a city government anywhere in the US, officials said.
Sculpted by Indian artist Naresh Kumar Kumawat, it was jointly unveiled on Saturday by Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and Consul General of India in Seattle Prakash Gupta.
"From Chicago 1893 to Seattle 2026! Seattle's skyline has a new Indian icon: Swami Vivekananda! City of Seattle becomes the first city government to host the Swami Vivekananda Monument in the heart of downtown Seattle," the Consulate General of India in Seattle said in a social media post.
Addressing the event, Wilson said the monument reflects Seattle's inclusive spirit and strengthens cultural ties between India and the diverse metropolitan tech hub in the US Pacific Northwest.
The statue has been gifted by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) to the City of Seattle in recognition of its "in recognition of the city’s rich multicultural character and spirit of inclusivity", the Indian mission in Seattle said in a statement.
The unveiling of the statue was held on the occasion of the celebration of ICCR Day and is part of India's broader cultural diplomacy initiatives aimed at strengthening people-to-people ties between India and the US Pacific Northwest, the Consulate said.
Located at the bustling Westlake Square, which sees over 400,000 visitors daily, the monument stands near prominent landmarks including the Amazon headquarters ‘Spheres’, the Seattle Convention Centre and the Seattle Centre Monorail.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by several local leaders, including mayors from cities in the Greater Seattle area, community representatives and members of the Indian-American diaspora.
Swami Vivekananda had delivered his historic address at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, introducing Hindu philosophy to a global audience.
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