Instagram to use Facebook's fact-checkers to curb fake news

Fake news and conspiracy theories aren't restricted to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. They have also spread to the popular photo-sharing platform Instagram. While the platform is working on trimming down false news, there are other tools in development as well.

Instagram will soon run potentially fake new posts past Facebook's fact-checking partners. Posts that turn out fake won't be deleted, but won't appear in the Explore tab or hashtag pages either. "Our approach to misinformation is the same as Facebook's - when we find misinfo, rather than remove it, we'll reduce its distribution," a spokesperson told Poynter.

The platform is said to be working with Facebook's Feed Integrity team since the US midterm election. When a false new appear on Facebook, the company's image recognition software will search them on Instagram, as well.

There is plenty of false news floating on Instagram that doesn't appear on Facebook and vice versa. So now, such Instagram posts will have to go through Facebook's fact checkers. Poynter also noted that Instagram is also testing pop-ups that will appear when users search misinformation.

Besides, Instagram is also working on a feature that will release the pressure of users to rack up likes on their posts. We might soon see a design overhaul of the app which would hide the number of likes on a post.

"We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get," reads tipster Jane Manchun Wong tweeted. "During this test, only the person who shared a post will see the total number of likes it gets."

However, users will still be able to see the names of their friends who liked the post, but not the total number of likes on that post. Only the person who shared the picture would be able to see the total number of likes.