WhatsApp enlists outside help for its fake news problem

Over the last two months, misinformation spread through WhatsApp in India has riled up lynch mobs that killed twelve people. After the country's government sternly criticized the messaging service for its role in the violence, WhatsApp is offering researchers up to $50,000 in grants to study fake news on the platform.

Per a Facebook Research blog post, the new initiative will consider proposals to study different ways fake news spreads on the service, such as by evaluating election-related information, virality and digital literacy (or lack thereof). But they're also looking for ways to detect problematic or illegal behavior without surveying content -- which is important on a platform like WhatsApp that end-to-end encrypts user communications.

While WhatsApp will give guidance, they won't provide any data, according to their terms. All study results and conclusions are owned by the researchers, who will be under no obligation to share with the messaging service. Facebook, which has had its own extensive struggle with fake news during and following the 2016 US presidential election, evidently wants the studies to begin soon -- proposals are due August 12th. Note that the grant will be paid out to the proposer's host university or organization, not the researchers themselves.

It's unclear what other steps WhatsApp may take to combat this fake news epidemic; We've reached out to Facebook for comment. In a statement aimed at the messaging service, India's Ministry of Electronics and IT demanded the platform "take immediate action to end the this menace."

Via: Mashable

Source: Facebook Research, WhatsApp Research Awards for Social Science and Misinformation



via Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2MSXngq
RSS Feed

If New feed item from http://www.engadget.com/rss-full.xml, then send me

IFTTT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evernote cuts staff as user growth stalls

Image
Note-taking app Evernote has fallen on hard times of late, culminating in its latest spate of job cuts impacting 15 percent of its workforce (54 employees). CEO Chris O' Neil -- an ex-Googler who took the reins in 2015 -- announced the firings at an all-hands meeting earlier today, reports TechCrunch . In a message on the Evernote blog , O' Neill admitted he'd set "incredibly aggressive goals" for the company in 2018. He continued: "Going forward, we are streamlining certain functions, like sales, so we can continue to speed up and scale others, like product development and engineering." The layoffs follow an exec exodus just weeks ago and the company's recent brand refresh (complete with a refined logo and wordmark). But critics are more concerned about its product, especially the free tier, which they claim lacks the perks to
Read more

The best air conditioner

Image
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic
Read more

We won't see a 'universal' vape oil cartridge anytime soon

Image
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs?
Read more