Facebook to label state media from now on

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Facebook will now label state media as such. The labels are shown in various places, but also appear in the News Feed in the US only. Facebook, together with experts, has drawn up criteria for the definition of a ‘state medium’.

Facebook starts worldwide with the labels. These will appear on pages of media that are partially or wholly controlled by governments. The social network writes that it has engaged a group of 65 experts to determine which organizations fall under the definition of state media. These experts are specialized in policy, media and human rights.

Facebook does not disclose the exact criteria, but does say which factors it looks at. Among other things, Facebook looks at who the owners of a medium are, the editorial guidelines and mission statements, where the financing of a medium comes from, and what policy and correction mechanisms the editors have in place. “If there are enough safeguards to guarantee editorial independence, we will not apply the label,” the company writes.

Facebook also looks at factors that vary by country, such as freedom of the press. Media that think they are unfairly awarded the label can object to this.

The labels can be seen on the pages of the media for now. The label also appears in the Ads Library and in the Pages Transparency Report. The label will also appear in the News Feed with individual messages in the United States only. It is not clear whether, and if so when, this will also happen in other countries.

Facebook announced the policy months ago, but hadn’t started rolling it out yet. The company tells CNN it’s starting there now as state media from countries like Russia and China are publishing more and more news about the coronavirus and anti-racism protests. Facebook also says it will ban state media from placing ads in America by the end of this year, although the company also says that this is rarely done.

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