BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Facebook targets 'false news' amid growing pressure from advertisers

  • Published
    30 June 2020
Share page
About sharing
An advert that is part of Facebook's new social media literacy campaignImage source, Facebook
Image caption,

Facebook's new media literacy campaign will ask users questions about what they see online

Marianna Spring
Specialist disinformation and social media reporter

Facebook is launching a campaign to help people spot fake news amid a growing advertising boycott putting pressure on the company to tackle misinformation and hate speech.

Steve Hatch, Facebook's vice president for Northern Europe, says the media literacy campaign launched with fact-checkers FullFact is evidence that the company is "listening and adapting".

But some experts and critics argue the effort across the UK, Europe, Africa and the Middle East is "too little, too late".

The campaign will direct people to the website StampOutFalseNews.com, external and ask users key questions about what they see online: "Where's it from?" "What's missing?" and "How did you feel?"

Seven ways to stop fake news from going viral

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Mr Hatch says "financial considerations" are not behind the new ads.

In recent days, more than 150 companies - including Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Unilever - have announced temporary halts to advertising buys on Facebook as a result of the #StopHateForProfit campaign.

  • Could a boycott kill Facebook?

Facebook's Steve Hatch says the company is working to stop coronavirus fakes
Image caption,

Facebook's Steve Hatch says the company is working to stop coronavirus fakes

'Night and day'

Misinformation or viral "fake news" has been a persistent issue for years on the social network, and it flared up dramatically after the emergence of Covid-19.

In May, a BBC investigation found links between coronavirus misinformation and assaults, arsons and deaths, with potential - and potentially much greater - indirect harm caused by rumours, conspiracy theories and bad health advice.

  • The human cost of virus misinformation

  • The (almost) complete history of 'fake news'

Mr Hatch says Facebook employees have working "night and day" to tackle false claims during the pandemic.

"If people were sharing information that could cause real-world harm, we will take that down. We've done that in hundreds of thousands of cases," he says.

But the media literacy effort is "too little too late" says Chloe Colliver, head of the digital research unit at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an anti-extremism think tank.

"We've seen Facebook try to take reactive and often quite small steps to stem the tide of disinformation on the platform," Ms Colliver says. "But they haven't been able to proactively produce policies that help prevent users from seeing disinformation, false identities, false accounts, and false popularity on their platforms." Facebook also owns Instagram and WhatsApp.

Under pressure

Facebook and other social media companies have also come under pressure over misleading information or comments that could arguably incite violence, in particular posts by US President Donald Trump.

Following widespread protests after the death of George Floyd, the President warned: "Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

The post was hidden by Twitter for "glorifying violence", but remained on Facebook.

Mr Hatch says that the US president's posts "come under a high level of scrutiny" by Facebook bosses. Echoing earlier comments by chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, he denied that the comment in question broke Facebook's rules, and stated that the company interpreted it as a reference to the possible use of National Guard troops.

"Whether you're a political figure or anyone on the platform," Mr Hatch says, you will be reprimanded for sharing posts that could cause real-world harm.

Is there a story we should be investigating? Email us, external.

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Israeli defence minister says criticism of Gaza City takeover plan 'will not weaken our resolve'

    • 5166 viewing5.2k viewing
  • Israel's Gaza City plan means more misery for Palestinians and big risk for Netanyahu

    • Published
      4 hours ago
  • Police 'sat on information' before man, 80, killed

    • Published
      41 minutes ago

More to explore

  • Cacio e pepe: Good Food pasta recipe sparks fury in Italy

    pasta in a bowl with cheese and pepper
  • Big Mags: The paedophile-hunting granny who built a heroin empire

    Mags Haney outside her home in the Raploch talking to two police officers. The photo from the mid 1990s shows Haney with short bleached blond hair and big earrings. She is wearing a pink cardigan and and orange t-shirt. A number of locals are standing around watching the scene
  • What we know about Israel's plan to take over Gaza City

    Palestinians hold out pots and bowls, jostling to reach the front of a line as they await meals distributed by aid groups in Gaza City
  • Faisal Islam: Why has the Bank of England cut rates?

    Andrew Bailey, Bank of England governor, looks straight at the camera. he's wearing glasses and a dark suit.
  • India's immigration raids send ripples through slums and skyscrapers alike

    A woman stands in a slum in Delhi
  • Watch: See where China plans to put its controversial mega-embassy

    A composite image of Damian Grammaticas and the proposed China embassy
  • Weekly quiz: Which baby names took top spot?

    A stock photo shows a baby looking directly at the camera while pouting as they prop their head up on an outdoor chair with bokeh depth of field behind.
  • Who is most likely to challenge Liverpool this season?

    • Attribution
      Sport
    Liverpool celebrate with Premier League trophy
  • Summer Essential: Your family’s guide to the summer, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday

    concentric circles ranging from orange to yellow to represent the sun, with a blue sky background
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Boy, 15, found guilty of murdering fellow pupil

  2. 2

    Police 'sat on information' before man, 80, killed

  3. 3

    New signs found of giant gas planet in 'Earth's neighbourhood'

  4. 4

    River Island allowed to shut shops to stave off collapse

  5. 5

    MP mistakes charity rowers for 'illegal migrants'

  6. 6

    Boy, 4, dies after being hit by bus as he walked out of hospital

  7. 7

    Comedian accused of indecent assault in BBC studio

  8. 8

    Teenager who lost his legs in crash will 'never forgive' driver

  9. 9

    JD Vance questions UK's Palestinian statehood plan

  10. 10

    Big Mags: The paedophile-hunting granny who built a heroin empire

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Your latest reality TV obsession has landed on iPlayer

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Destination X
  • Jacob Elordi stars in explosive war drama

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    The Narrow Road to the Deep North
  • Inside the front-line fight against cybercriminals

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Panorama: Fighting Cyber Criminals
  • A rare glimpse into the world of rope access

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Our Lives: High Stakes
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.