Threads
is going to moderate posts as it works on implementing a fact-checking program starting next year. “Wanted to share that we’re working to extend our fact-checking program on Threads next year,” wrote
head
Adam Mosseri
in a post.
Mosseri said that the social networking platform is currently utilising ratings from
or Instagram to match them with similar content.
However, starting next year fact-checkers will have access to tools that will enable them to review posts. "Currently, we match fact-check ratings from Facebook or Instagram to Threads, but our goal is to provide fact-checking partners with the ability to review and rate misinformation on the app," he stated in a post.
What does it mean? Fact-checkers can't currently rate content on Threads. However, when something gets flagged as false on Instagram or Facebook, those ratings will also carry over onto the app. But, starting next year, Threads will have a separate group of fact-checkers working on moderating posts on the platform.
Threads still prohibits searching for certain keywords such as "covid" and "covid-19," as first reported by the Washington Post in September. In October,
Mosseri
stated that although Threads is not against news, it will not give more attention to news on the platform. When the platform introduced the search tool, it also blocked certain words that were "previously linked" to misinformation on
Meta
's platform.
Meta has announced that third-party fact-checking partners will be responsible for flagging and reviewing content that is circulated on Threads. Users of the app will have the option to increase, lower, or maintain the default level of “demotions on fact-checked content” in their feeds. If a user chooses to view less sensitive content on Instagram, those same settings will also apply to their Threads view.
Meta has been long criticized for spreading misinformation on its platform, so working on introducing fact-check on Threads seems a cautionary move ahead of the polls in the US and its European debut.
English (US) ·