【Watch The Running Mates: Human Rights Online】

Recently,Watch The Running Mates: Human Rights Online Facebook has been taking a harder stance on misinformation.

The company banned content related to the QAnonconspiracy theory and cracked down on coronavirus misinformation. But it's still not enough.

According to a recent studyby the non-profit advocacy group Avaaz, Facebook is failing in a major, basic way. Facebook Pages that spread misinformation are finding their way around one of the platform’s most important tools for fighting fake news: its AI system.

When Facebook’s fact-checkers debunk a claim in a post, its AI is supposed to flag and label alternative versions of the post spreading the same misinformation. But the study says Pages are getting around these fact-checks.

SEE ALSO: Facebook's 'monopoly power' hurts user privacy, finds Congress

How? By slightly tweaking the photos and memes used to spread misinformation.

Avaaz’s researchers looked into 119 “repeat misinformers” – pages that have spread misinformation a minimum of three times – to understand how these pages get around Facebook’s AI detection.

Turns out, all they have to do is change the background color or font on the photo or meme they’re sharing. They can also change up the location of the text on the meme or try cropping it.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Below is an example from the study showing two pieces of content spreading the same fact-checked claims. The image on the left just needed to change the format and text placement of the image on the right to avoid the fact-check label from Facebook.

A fact-checked meme could easily avoid a Facebook warning label by just tweaking some attributes. Credit: AVAAZ

Another workaround is to simply take the text from an image and copy and paste that same text on top of a different image or meme. Or they can take that copied text from a meme and simply paste it as a Facebook status. All of these methods will avoid Facebook’s AI detection, which means the content will appear without a fact-check or warning label.

Avaaz estimates that these 119 “repeat misinformer” Pages amassed 5.2 billion views from August 2019 to August 2020. Alternative versions of fact-checked posts had around 141 million views with 5.6 million interactions.

The study points out that the misinformation attacked both presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and other Democrats and Republicans. However, there is a clear partisan bent on the list of “repeat misinformer” Pages that received the most interactions. Eight out of 10 of them shared right-wing content.

Alongside pages like “Conservative Values” and “President Trump Fans” spreading misinformation is a sitting Congressman’s official Facebook page: Republican Rep. Steve King.

This is particularly concerning being that politicians are exempt from many of Facebook’s rules. One such policy, which has been routinelycriticized since it was announced late last year, basically allows public servants to lie on the social media platform.

In fact, the one way a politician would be fact-checked on the platform is if they’re sharing content that has already been fact-checked. However, the workarounds uncovered in Avaaz’s study help politicians avoid even that.

Avaaz presented its findings to Facebook before publishing the study. The group says Facebook added a warning label to 4 percent of the 738 posts it flagged. It removed another 3 percent. The majority remain on the platform without a label.

Topics Facebook Social Media Elections

• Social Good
• Games
• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Deals
• Science
• Life
• Digital Culture

• A worthless juicer and a Gipper-branded server
• Apple has paid out $70 billion to developers
• 'Sharknado 5' just got a perfectly terrible title and tagline
• Besides asking Bixby to call your mom, now you can send her money, too
• Musetti vs. Diallo 2025 livestream: Watch Madrid Open for free
• Apple has paid out $70 billion to developers
• What the Essential Phone means for the iPhone 8 and all future phones
• Toyota will roll out Automotive Grade Linux in future cars
• PSG vs. Liverpool 2025 livestream: Watch Champions League for free
• Harvard will offer a course based on 'Game of Thrones'

• NYT mini crossword answers for November 7
• PSG vs. Atletico Madrid 2024 livestream: Watch Champions League for free
• Best TV backlight deal: Get 29% off Govee TV backlights
• Calm Premium: Save 50% on a premium subscription.
• Best coffee machine: Save $195 on De'Longhi Magnifica Plus
• Sony INZONE H9 wireless gaming headphones deal: Get 34% off at Amazon
• Gauff vs. Krejcikova 2024 livestream: Watch WTA Finals for free
• PS5 Pro reviews: Top 3 complaints about the new console
• Wordle today: The answer and hints for November 8
• Australia to ban social media for kids under 16

• NYT mini crossword answers for April 24, 2025
• 'Sharknado 5' just got a perfectly terrible title and tagline
• Delivery food service Blue Apron to go public, raise $100 million
• Apple WWDC 2017: What to expect
• Best Garmin deal: Save $50 on the Venu 3S at Best Buy
• Surprise! A brand new J.R.R. Tolkien book is now on sale
• Dear smartphone companies, please give us smaller phones
• Starbucks' Ombre Pink Drink is here to match your ombre hair
• Best Amazon deal: Get a $5 Amazon credit when you spend $30 on home essentials
• Even for LeBron James, 'Being black in America is ... it's tough'

• NYT Strands hints, answers for April 26
• Man can't handle women
• Groot Bread is here to kick your unicorn latte's ass
• Walmart has employees deliver packages on their way home from work
• Best Samsung Frame deal: Free Music Frame with Frame Pro art TV purchase
• Hillary Clinton says Facebook must 'prevent fake news from creating a new reality'
• More ripples in space time detected, casting light into black holes
• 7 traits of successful leaders who break barriers to create opportunity
• Grim video of a starving polar bear could show the species' future
• Pornhub reveals the top typos people make when, um, typing with one hand