New extensions identify fake Facebook news

A Princeton hackathon team built fIB and Daniel Sieradski created the B.S. Detector, both of which label Facebook news feed sources according to credibility.

Controversy continues over Facebook’s responsibilities regarding vetting or verifying news sources and posts. Quick fixes are now available. Two new Chrome extensions tag Facebook posts according to the content and source trustworthiness. fIB, developed over the course of a Princeton University hackathon, is an algorithm that tags links in posts as either verified or not verified. B.S. Detector flags most of the well-known hoax sites when they appear as a news source.

fIB is open source, and if a post is tagged as not verified, the algorithm will lead readers to a more credible version of the story, if available. Users of B.S. Detector can use Github to submit requests for modifications to the list of hoax sites.

Knowledge is powerful (and can be power itself), which is why many innovations use open source data to facilitate transparency and to make best use of available expertise. In New York City, cyclists crowd-source a map showing cars in bike lanes. In South Africa, an app links traditional fishers with markets and government environmental agencies. Which areas of information have yet to try incorporating crowd-sourced knowledge?