Media Matters Says It Is Secretly Working with Facebook to Fight ‘Fake News’

Spread the love

Loading

Washington Free Beacon:

Left-wing advocacy group Media Matters for America has been quietly working with social media giant Facebook to combat what the group describes as “propaganda” and “fake news,” internal documents reveal.

Media Matters told current and prospective donors at a retreat in Florida over the weekend that it has been in discussions with Facebook leadership about their policies on inaccurate and partisan news stories on the website that many liberals blame for political losses last year.

“We’ve been engaging with Facebook leadership behind the scenes to share our expertise and offer input on developing meaningful solutions,” the group said in a briefing book obtained by the Washington Free Beacon at the conference.

“Media Matters will serve as their partner,” the group said of its work with Facebook and other social media companies.

Conservatives have argued in the past that Facebook intentionally marginalizes right-leaning voices, a theory that could be fueled by the social media network’s ties to Media Matters, among the harshest critics of conservative figures and ideas.

Media Matters, a self-styled media watchdog, is retooling its mission to place greater emphasis on “fake news,” a loosely defined category of misinformation that has been invoked to attack everything from Russian propaganda efforts to political blogs deemed factually dubious.

In his speech to last weekend’s conference, Media Matters founder David Brock blamed “fake news,” among other maladies, for the November loss of his preferred presidential candidate, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The briefing book bills Media Matters as “the top watchdog against fake news and propaganda.” With donors’ support, the group said, it will ensure that “Internet and social media platforms, like Google and Facebook, … no longer uncritically and without consequence host and enrich fake news sites and propagandists.”

Among its strategies for doing so has been direct engagement with Facebook and other top social media and technology companies.

Media Matters launched a petition drive during the 2016 campaign to pressure Facebook into addressing the ostensible proliferation of “fake news” on its website. The group credits that campaign with the company’s public vow to address the problem.

“After Facebook responded to our campaign by acknowledging the problem of fake news and agreeing to do something about it, we began a dialogue,” the briefing book says. “It became clear from these conversations that Facebook needed our help in fully understanding the problem and identifying concrete solutions.”

Media Matters’ goal is to get Facebook to “adjust its model to stem the flow of damaging fake news on its platform’s pages.”

A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment on its interactions with Media Matters, but a source familiar with the company’s thinking stressed that it routinely speaks with groups from across the political spectrum.

Read more

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of

5 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

If they elminted all the fake news we would get very little or no news at all the New York Slimes would go bankrupt

Hm. The conservative-hating media watchdog wants to combat “fake news”? The only fake news we’ve seen has been from the left. And no, the news articles shared through Facebook did not contribute to Queen Hillary losing. Media’s been kissing her ass all this time and painting devil horns on Trump. Methinks this is their attempt to try to get the green light to shut down all the conservative political blog posts so that Queen Hillary makes a comeback in 2020.

Is Soros behind this too?

Nothings going to change with these lying liberal journalists its going to be buisess as usial when it comes to a republican president especialy with the Hollyweed crowd

First, what are the examples of the “fake news” that had such a dire effect on the election? If they were out there, I never saw one.

Second, is any sane person expected to trust a George Soros-funded propaganda organ like Media Matters to safeguard the truth? How did their campaign to put Fox News out of business work out?

Why you shouldn’t believe any news story you read on Facebook without additional verification: React365