A new method in combatting fake news
As part of its efforts to combat fake news, Facebook-owned social media app Instagram rolled out a new feature that flags fake, photoshopped photos.
Announced last December 16, 2019, the new feature flags photos that Instagram suspects are photoshopped and can cause the spread of false information. This is done by a group of third-party fact-checkers, and photos that have been flagged will be removed from Instagram’s Explore and hashtag pages to prevent further distribution. With this effort, Instagram hopes that you see less of those old hoaxes, junk science, and even fake political ads shared by your friends.
However, as much as we laud Instagram’s effort for this, their algorithm is still a work in progress, as it has a tendency of flagging photoshopped photos and digital art. This has been encountered by photographer Toby Harriman, where he saw a post was flagged by Instagram.
Right now, it is unclear as to what does Instagram classify as false information. Expect the social media platform to update its guidelines in future updates of the app.
