It was almost at a point when one cannot actually trust what is posted online, because there are several means of misinformation.

In an attempt to fight misinformation, spread through photos and video, Instagram is adding a “False Information” warning to the platform. Using a combination of user reporting and automation, suspected content will be sent to independent fact-checkers for review and flagged as “false” if it turns out to be fake.

In a release on their Help Centre in 2019, Instagram said:

“We want you to trust what you see on Instagram. Photo and video-based misinformation is increasingly a challenge across our industry, and something our teams have been focused on addressing. In May of this year, we began working with third-party fact-checkers in the US to help identify, review, and label false information.”

These partners independently assess false information to help us catch it and reduce its distribution. Today, we’re expanding our fact-checking program globally to allow fact-checking organizations around the world to assess and rate misinformation on our platform.”

By implication, this means, “when content has been rated as false or partly false by a third-party fact-checker, we reduce its distribution by removing it from Explore and hashtag pages. In addition, it will be labeled so people can better decide for themselves what to read, trust, and share.”

“When these labels are applied, they will appear to everyone around the world viewing that content – in feed, profile, stories, and direct messages. We use image matching technology to find further instances of this content and apply the label, helping reduce the spread of misinformation.”

“In addition, if something is rated false or partly false on Facebook, starting today we’ll automatically label identical content if it is posted on Instagram (and vice versa). The label will link out to the rating from the fact-checker and provide links to articles from credible sources that debunk the claim(s) made in the post. We make content from accounts that repeatedly receive these labels harder to find by removing it from Explore and hashtag pages.”

“To determine which content should be sent to fact-checkers for review, we use a combination of feedback from our community and technology. Earlier this year, we added a “False Information” feedback option, and these reports, along with other signals, help us to better identify and take action on potentially false information.”

According to Instagram, content will be flagged as potentially fake by “a combination of feedback from our community and technology.”

Then, if third-party independent fact-checkers identify that the content is indeed fake, three things happen:

– The photo or video is removed from Explore and Hashtag pages to “reduce its distribution”

– The photo is clearly labeled “False Information” in an overlay that doesn’t even let you look at the photo or video yet.

– Anybody who tries to post that same photo will receive a warning that they are about to share false information.

In addition to the three consequences above, accounts that are repeatedly flagged for sharing false information will be removed from Explore and hashtag pages permanently.

Two people crossed my mind, the photographers who uses heavy digital manipulations to create fantastical scenes and the Make Up Artists who….. (I leave you to complete it).

Which group of people do you think this will also affect?

The idea is Keep It Real, and that is what makes sense.