Facebook expands local language coverage to battle fake news scourge

Facebook is intensifying efforts in the fight against the spread of fake news with its Third-Party Fact-Checking Programme. The Programme runs on feedback from the Facebook community as a signal to raise potentially false stories to the fact-checkers for verification.

Facebook along with Africa Check has now increased the local languages recognized by this program. It has added Nigerian local languages like Yoruba and Igbo, it also added Swahili in Kenya, Wolof in Senegal and Afrikaans, Zulu, Setswana, Sotho, Northern Sotho and Southern Ndebele in South Africa

The increase in local language coverage assists Facebook to fact-check more content and increase the reach of credible information across Africa.

Kojo Boakye, Facebook Head of Public Policy, Africa, said: “We continue to make significant investments in our efforts to fight the spread of false news on our platform…Our third-party fact-checking program is just one of many ways we are doing this, and with the expansion of local language coverage, this will help in further improving the quality of information people see on Facebook. We know there is still more to do, and we’re committed to this.”