The modern election landscape is being increasingly and significantly impacted by a troubling and fast-growing entity: fake news. The 2016 US presidential elections gave a glimpse into the potential influence of questionable news reports on the electorate’s perceptions and ultimate voting decisions, leaving many experts to argue that fake news played a no small part in the election’s unprecedented results.
In a bid to prevent a similar scenario from playing out in their own political landscape, numerous countries are taking decisive countermeasures. Germany blazed the trail, becoming the very first European nation to actively combat fake news spread via social media.
However, combatively flanking this new-age problem requires the mobilization and collaboration of the world’s leading tech giants. Recognizing this pressing need, Google and Facebook have entered an alliance with French news corporations to tackle the swelling tide of fake news as France gears up for its impending presidential elections.
In an enlightening [blog post](https://blog.google/topics/google-europe/crosscheck-first-draft-newsrooms-french-elections/) Google detailed its partnership with First Draft and Facebook, spearheading an initiative named CrossCheck. Specifically designed for news verification, CrossCheck is poised to combat and extinguish false claims, hoaxes, and rumors that can alter the course of an election.
Parallelly, Facebook has also been implementing a series of techniques to refute fake news on its platform, including modifications to the “Trending Topics” section. That way, when users see a trending story from a news organization, they will also be presented with related alternative news, enabling them to make a more informed judgement on the topic at hand.
“The combined expertise of media and technology powers our CrossCheck initiative. It aims to swiftly debunk hoaxes, rumors, and false claims, while ensuring misleading or confusing stories are accurately reported,” said Dieudonné. As the clock counts down to the French presidential election, newsroom firms spanning France and beyond are coming together in an unprecedented collaboration to verify the diverse array of publicly circulating online content which includes memes, comments, photos, videos, and news websites.
The rise of social media has truly democratized the Internet, offering every individual a platform to express their thoughts. However, this ability to post content without standard checks and balances has led to a disturbing proliferation of blogs and comments presenting unverified claims that reach billions of people worldwide. A [study by Stanford University](http://techbooky.com/study-shows-that-most-students-cant-differentiate-between-articles/) supports these concerns, suggesting over 80 percent of students – arguably a significant portion of the online population – were unable to distinguish between sponsored stories and legitimate news. This inability or lack of fact-checking prior to sharing online articles is contributing to the dangerous trend of misinformation.
Though this problem has plagued us for some time, it appears the world is now paying attention, and rightly so considering the potential of fake news to influence governmental structures against the will of the majority. On that note, the CrossCheck partners will be utilizing the collective reporting in their respective articles, television programs, and social media posts. Early collaborators for the initiative include prestigious media outlets such as AFP (Agence France-Presse), BuzzFeed News, France Médias Monde, France Télévisions, Global Voices, Libération, La Provence, Les Echos, Le Monde, Nice-Matin, Ouest-France, and several more.
As the French elections approach, slated for the 23rd of April 2017, CrossCheck signs a new dawn in the fight against fake news, with Google hoping to provide news companies with verifiable, fact-checked sources, thereby aiding in a free and fair election.
Paul Balo is the founder of TechBooky and a highly skilled wireless communications professional with a strong background in cloud computing, offering extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing wireless communication systems.
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