Facebook has announced that it is going to start cracking down on “fake news” by fact-checking viral news story shared on its platform and marking them as true or false. But the social media giant was in the crosshairs recently for describing the truck crashing into a Christmas market in Berlin an “attack” before that fact was confirmed.
Shortly after the incident on Monday, which left at least 12 dead and 48 injured, Facebook activated its Safety Check feature which allows users near the area to check in with friends and loved ones and note their safety status. One writer for the super-leftist outlet Mic.com took issue with Facebook’s wording which called it “The Attack in Berlin.”
Melanie Ehrenkranz feels that Facebook “forced users to call Berlin truck crash an ‘attack’ — before the facts came in.” As TruthRevolt’s Mark Tapson noted in his initial report on the now-confirmed terrorist attack, CNN played it safe, calling it a “truck crash.” Ehrenkranz, too, noted how most mainstream news outlets were reporting it that way and only citing the incident as possible terrorism but said Facebook was irresponsible for jumping the gun.
“Calling it an attack was premature,” she stated.
After receiving online complaints on its site and on , TwitterFacebook changed the wording to “The Violent Incident in Berlin, Germany” hoping to appease the concern. Of course, they were right in the first place and eventually changed it back. Yes, reporting news that’s vetted is of utmost importance, but it’s not hard to see a parallel between a truck crashing through a busy marketplace during a holiday and the attack during Bastille Day celebration’s earlier this year in France when another large truck driven by a jihadist mowed through a crowd of people.
But Facebook’s initial response caused Ehrenkranz to question the “dangerous misinformation [that] continues to thrive on Facebook” and, so, she offered this lecture:
Facebook insists it is not a media company. But if you're looking and not listening, you might think otherwise.
Facebook, which has over 1.2 billion daily active users, has consistently deflected responsibility for propagating misinformation that might sway popular opinion. The Berlin truck crash is an example of Facebook not only spreading misinformation but creating it in the first place — then sweeping it under the rug.
In the event of future incidents warranting safety check-ins, wording is imperative. Choosing the wording used in a Safety Check activation goes beyond simply providing a technological service — it marks an editorial responsibility. Calling an event a terror attack before the authorities do so could be dangerous.
By changing its wording around the crash, it's evident that Facebook does, to some extent, recognize its authority in shaping public perception.
Of course, the writer had nothing to say about her own hysterical headlines shaping public perception. See: Twitter just overhauled its abuse policies — so Donald Trump should probably be banned.
