As part of its comprehensive fact-checking efforts, The Associated Press announced Wednesday that it will work with Facebook to identify and debunk false and misleading stories related to the U.S. midterm election that are circulating on the platform.
The expanded collaboration leverages the presence of AP reporters in all 50 U.S. states to bring a local focus to Facebook’s fact-checking initiative.
AP has worked with Facebook since 2016 to reduce the circulation of false news articles on the platform.
“AP is committed to accurate and informative reporting on politics across the United States and worldwide,” said AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Sally Buzbee. “Fact checking has long been a critical component of AP’s coverage of campaigns and government, and we are thrilled to work with Facebook to further surface that strong, fact-based reporting among members of its community.”
“We’re invested in fighting the spread of false news on Facebook, and AP’s commitment to significantly increase its fact-checking work in the lead-up to midterm elections will help the Facebook community better assess the accuracy of stories and make more informed decisions,” said Meredith Carden of the Facebook Journalism Project’s strategic partner development team.
AP journalists will fact-check national, state and local election-related stories on Facebook, supplying related AP news stories that debunk misinformation, validate a story as true, or provide additional background and context.
AP stories dispelling patently fictitious news articles already appear on the AP wire, on apnews.com and on the AP News app. They include a note on the global news agency’s efforts to verify the facts in false stories.
For decades AP has consistently provided its member news organizations and customers with nonpartisan fact checks that objectively examine the claims of politicians and government and other officials.
AP’s rigorous code of News Values and Principles has long set the standard for accuracy and ethics in journalism.
Contact
Lauren Easton
Director of Media Relations
The Associated Press
212-621-7005
[email protected]
Lauren Svensson
Facebook Communications
[email protected]
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