More and more often we find on social news, images with captions and videos that report a "tarot" news also called fake news, with the aim of attracting users who are not very attentive or eager to share information piloted to make an opinion shine through despite the news does not have no foundation (political fake news often gets this kind of effect). If we find completely false shares or news on our home, it is not enough to scroll and let forget but we can actively intervene by reporting fake news to Facebook, which will (after numerous reports and an accurate investigation) permanently block the content.
We see in this guide how to report the Fake News on Facebook and Twitter, the two social media most targeted by this form of deviated information.
READ ALSO -> Fake News: how to recognize them and avoid false news
1) How to report fake news on Facebook
Facebook is the site with the largest number of fake news in circulation, since it is very easy to create (or run them) using channels, groups and sharing with many contacts (strategy of "sharing without even reading" typical of those who do not know use information tools well).
As soon as we run into a fake news in our Facebook stream we click on the top right of the post (on the three dots) and then we click on the item Provide feedback on this post .
A new window will open where we will be able to choose a series of items regarding the reports; for fake news, select the item False News and click on Send at the bottom.
The post will be correctly reported and will be managed by the dedicated Facebook service. It is not said that the fake news will disappear immediately, but if a post receives many reports of this type we will help to make it disappear definitively from the social blue.
If we use the Facebook app a lot from mobile (smartphone and tablet), we can also report fake news from here.
First of all we download the updated Facebook app using the links here -> Facebook (Android) and Facebook (iOS).
Once inside the app we identify the news that we consider fake news, we tap on the three dots at the top right of the post and then on the item Provide feedback on this post .
A page similar to the Web version will open where we can select the item False News, so as to leave a trace in the Facebook reporting system and help the social network to remain a free place from the now rampant fake news.
2) How to report fake news on Twitter
Fortunately, Twitter is less subject to fake news, given that it is a bit more "serious" as a social network and considering that most of the users who help spread false news only know Facebook as social; however, they are also present on Twitter, so better to know how to intervene.
If we use Twitter and we see fake news appearing in our stream, we can quickly report them by clicking on the small arrowhead pointing downwards at the top right of the tweet, and using the Report Tweet item.
A new window will open where we can choose which type of report to send; for fake news we recommend using the Spam item.
Click Next to confirm the report. The Twitter control system is much more effective than Facebook, and very soon the fake news will be canceled or will end without a hashtag, so as to no longer be directly visible to all users.
As with Facebook, even with the mobile version of Twitter, we can report tweets that we believe to be false news.
We download the updated Twitter app for Android and iOS devices using the links present here -> Twitter (Android) and Twitter (iOS).
Once downloaded and logged in with our account, we identify the tweet which in our opinion contains a fake news, tap on the down arrow at the top right and finally select the Report Tweet item.
We indicate as previously seen the Spam nature of the post, so as to help Twitter keep the social network clean from false news (the control system seems to be decidedly more effective, just a few reports are needed to see a real fake news disappear).
3) How to prevent other fake news from appearing on social networks
Reporting fake news is only the first step: if we see a page that distributes only fake news (maybe it does it for money or to get an opinion advantage), we must absolutely block it to prevent other fake news from appearing on our social networks. ; let's see how to block pages that distribute this type of inappropriate content.
Once the reporting on Facebook is complete, the system will offer a series of solutions if the page from which the fake news started was present among our favorites or often appears in our posts.
We can choose to block the page (we will never see any of its content again and we will no longer be able to access it), if we will no longer follow the page (we will keep the Like but we will no longer see news on our stream) or we can remove the Like from the page if we had added it in the past.
The most drastic but effective solution is definitely the Block button, but we can choose how to behave according to the situation (in some cases reporting the fake news should be sufficient).
If the site insists on showing fake news, better block it.
If the user or the page that sends fake news from Twitter continues to bother us, we can always silence or block it by clicking again on the arrowhead of a suspicious post and using the Silence or Block keys.
Silenzia will prevent you from viewing further posts on the page (without blocking access), while Block will block any type of access or display, thus leaving your stream finally free from fake news disseminated by that user or by that page.
