Facebook on Thursday added a method for people running groups to automatically sift out claims that have been debunked since being posted.
The ability for group administrators to send misinformation to a “quarantine queue” comes ahead of midterm elections in the United States and as Facebook-parent Meta continues to fend off critics who say it doesn’t do enough to fight misinformation on its platforms.
The tool allows those running groups to automatically relegate into quarantine new posts tagged as containing false information, as well as previously posted claims that were subsequently proven untrue, according to Facebook.
“To help ensure content is more reliable for the broader community, group admins can automatically move posts containing information rated as false by third-party fact-checkers to pending posts so that the admins can review the posts before deleting them,” said head of Facebook Tom Alison.
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Facebook in March began letting groups automatically reject fresh posts identified as containing false information, taking aim at a part of the massive network that has drawn particular concern from misinformation watchdogs.
More than 1.8 billion people per month use Facebook Groups, which allow members to gather around topics ranging from parenting to politics.
Yet critics have said the groups are ripe for the spread of misleading or false information because they have sometimes large audiences of like-minded users organized on a particular topic.
The misinformation sifting tool was among enhancements aimed at making it easier for administrators to manage groups.
“There are over 100 million new group memberships every day on Facebook — which is kind of incredible,” Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said in a post, adding a promise to keep building new features for “even deeper connections around shared interests.”
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The evolution of groups is part of Meta’s vision of a future in which life online plays out in virtual worlds referred to as the metaverse, according to Alison.
“Technology is evolving at a rapid pace,” Alison said at the summit.
“More specifically: we’re evolving it, investing in products and research that will help make the metaverse a reality.”
The former president of the United States Bill Clinton was hospitalized in Washington after “develoting a fever”
Former US President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) was hospitalized from Washington to undergo medical tests after “developing fever,” his office reported in a message on social networks.
Clinton, 78, was admitted to the Georgetown University Medical Center in the US capital, Angel Ureña, who served as Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, explained on his X account.
“The former president is still in good spirits and is deeply grateful for the excellent attention he is receiving,” the message deepened.
In 2004, the former president underwent quadruple bahaspas heart surgery and in 2010 he underwent another surgery related to his cardiovascular problems.
The former Democratic leader was hospitalized in 2021 in California for an infection that spread to his bloodstream.
Clinton is one of the four former presidents of the United States who are still alive, along with Donald Trump (2017-2021), Barack Obama (2009-2017), George W. Bush (2001-2009) and Jimmy Carter (1977-1981).
The latter is, at 100 years old, the longest-serving president in the history of the United States.
Lula calls for reconciliation and dialogue in his Christmas message
The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, made this Monday a call for reconciliation, hope and joint work to build a more just and supportive country, in his annual Christmas message.
“This is the time to renew our hope. Hope in a fairer country. A Brazil without hunger, where every woman and every man has a decent job and time to see their children grow up,” Lula said.
In a brief message broadcast live on television, radio and social networks, Lula said that the basis of everything his Government does is in the dialogue and joint work it carries out with civil society and regional governments, “in the harmony” between the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary and in the “uncompromising” defense of democracy.
“We still have huge challenges ahead of us. But today Brazil has a strong economy, which continues to grow. An efficient government, which invests where it matters most: in the quality of life of the Brazilian population,” emphasized the Brazilian president in reference to the forecast that the country will end the year with a growth of 3.5%, above the 3.2% recorded in 2023.
The Brazilian president, however, stressed that although the fruits of what was sown in his first two years of management is already beginning to be harvested, “there is still much to do” and “we must continue to sow.”
In 2025 “we will redouble our efforts for sowing. And may the harvest be increasingly generous,” he said.
In a country still politically polarized, Lula took the opportunity to defend reconciliation between the brothers and that families can celebrate Christmas together.
With the Panama hat that he has been using to hide the wounds of his recent surgery, the progressive leader also thanked the messages of affection and solidarity he received from the Brazilian population.
“Thanks to this chain of solidarity I am even more firm and strong to continue making Brazil work,” he said.
The driver involved in the accident with 41 dead is handed over to the Brazilian police
The driver of the truck loaded with rocks that allegedly caused the multiple accident in which 41 people died in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais turned himself in to the regional police on Monday, the federal government news agency reported.
The man, who had been a fugitive since the accident that occurred in the early hours of Saturday, presented himself with a lawyer at the police station of the municipality of Teófilo Otoni, the rural area where the tragedy unfloded, in order to testify.
The regional police said on Sunday at a press conference that the suspect’s driver’s license was requisitioned in 2022 after not wanting to undergo a breathalyzer test.
In addition, he said that, based on a preliminary investigation, the truck had an “excess load”, so the driver could face criminal charges.
The main line of investigation on the accident is that one of the granite blocks transported by the truck came off and collided with the bus, which was traveling in the opposite direction with 45 people on board.
The impact caused a large fire that took hours to extinguish, which is why the corpses are charred and difficult to identify.
After that first collision, another vehicle behind collided with the truck and its three occupants recorded serious injuries, according to the Fire Department.
The accident, which occurred in a curved section on the BR 116 federal highway, is one of the worst road tragedies in Brazil.
