About: fake news
EU mulls disinformation regulation but admits alert system has ‘never been triggered’
The case for the EU regulation of online disinformation "will be evaluated" in the coming months ahead of a decision in early 2020, a Commission official revealed on Tuesday (29 October). At the same time, the EU's executive conceded that its disinformation alert system has never been triggered.
Fighting ‘fake news’ online: How soldiers in Latvia got fooled by bots
When NATO's Centre for Strategic Communication in Riga discovered how easy it was to dupe its soldiers online, it has started looking for ways of countering false information, which comes, in large part, from Russia. EURACTIV's media partner der Tagesspiegel reports.
‘New generation of disinformation’ awaits next Commission, says rights group
Disinformation campaigns are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are developing almost unregulated, according to civil rights activists who say the European Commission's relying on the self-regulation of social media platforms is no longer enough.
Member states differ in combating disinformation, EU report says
The approach to tackling disinformation across the EU "varies greatly across member states," says a report produced by the outgoing Romanian Presidency. The document was distributed to national delegations ahead of the European Council summit, which concluded that "sustained efforts" were required in the fight against fake news.
Trump launches 2020 reelection campaign, calling US ‘envy of the world’
President Donald Trump launched his 2020 reelection campaign Tuesday (18 June), whipping up a crowd of at least 20,000 with a nationalist boast about the US economy being the "envy" of the world and warning that opposition Democrats want to "destroy" the country.
Facebook to work with ‘trustworthy’ media after Russian fake news offensive
Facebook said it will enable “trustworthy” news publishers to generate additional revenue on its social media site, following EU accusations of Russian meddling in last month's European election campaign.
Digital Brief: Far-right falsities
It’s election time. With the Brits and the Dutch heading to the polls today, the big news of the week is the story that Facebook has removed around 80 pages spreading fake news or using tactics aimed at unfairly influencing the polls.
Facebook shuts dozens of fake-news pages ahead of EU vote
Facebook has taken down nearly 80 pages spreading fake news or using tactics that appeared aimed at unfairly influencing the European Parliament vote this weekend, an NGO reported Wednesday (22 May).
Google, Facebook, Twitter rapped for not doing enough in EU fake news fight
Facebook, Google and Twitter were reprimanded by the European Commission on Friday (17 May) for not doing enough to tackle fake news plaguing the election campaign to the European Parliament, seven months after promising to do more.
European election candidates consider next steps for EU media policy
Lead candidates for the upcoming European elections are pondering ways of safeguarding the media sector's integrity in light of persistent economic challenges and emerging threats like Russian disinformation.
Facebook takes down fake Italian accounts ahead of EU election
Facebook said on Sunday (12 May) it had taken down numerous Italian accounts on its platform that were false or were spreading fake news ahead of a European parliamentary election later this month.
Greece threatens to raise Facebook’s fact-checking issue at EU Council
The Greek government has lashed out against Facebook, after the social media platform decided to partner with a “controversial” fact-checker in the country. Athens says it is now prepared to raise the issue at an EU level, unless it gets satisfactory answers.
In the fight against fake news, YouTube has a ‘bias toward keeping content up’
YouTube has a systemic 'bias towards keeping content up,' although the video-sharing platform recently removed more than one million channels for violation of its policies as part of the EU's code of practice against disinformation, EURACTIV has learnt.
As election looms, Spaniards are hit by WhatsApp disinformation campaign
Spanish citizens have been subject to a series of disinformation campaigns ranging from fake news about Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez signing a Catalan independence deal, to conspiracies about migrants and propaganda against gay people, a new study has found.
Juncker vows to fight Brussels-bashing before European elections
EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has vowed to crack down on Brussels-bashing in the run up to next month's European elections.
Commission urges platforms to take action on fake accounts before EU elections
Online platforms need to step up their attempts to quell the spread of fake accounts but also provide greater independent access to their content for fact checkers, as part of their wider efforts in compliance with the code of practice against disinformation, the European Commission said on Wednesday (20 March).
Russian disinformation attempts to weaken ‘America’s commitment to Europe,’ US ambassador says
The Russian state is engaging in “subtle and insidious” disinformation campaigns that aim to “weaken America’s commitment to Europe” and “exploit the open market of ideas in our democracy,” the US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland has said.
EU raps Facebook, Twitter and Google for inaction on fake news
Online platforms are failing to make sufficient progress in the fight against disinformation, the European Commission warned on Thursday (28 December). As the European elections draw closer, the EU cybersecurity agency ENISA has called for national legislation in the fight against fake news.
Commission responds to Orbán’s latest anti-immigration campaign
The European Commission reacted strongly on Thursday (28 February) to a new anti-immigration campaign launched by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán earlier this week by saying it "distorts the truth" and refuting most of its points.
‘Digital gangsters’: UK parliament slams Facebook on data protection, disinformation
A UK Parliamentary report has singled out Facebook for failing to effectively protect user data and stem the spread of disinformation across its platform, saying that the tech giant "is unwilling to be accountable to regulators around the world."
Ahead of EU polls, Facebook voids accounts targeting Moldovan election
Facebook Inc said on Thursday (14 February) it had disrupted an attempt to influence voters in Moldova, increasing concerns that EU elections in May could be prey to malign activity.
UK report: Tax relief and extra funding for news outlets
A UK government-commissioned report published on Tuesday (12 February) called for extra support to be given to smaller news outlets, including an innovation fund for local news and tax reliefs for public interest journalism.
EU Commission hits out at Facebook’s disinformation report
European Commission Security Chief Julian King criticised the "patchy, opaque and self-selecting" reporting provided by Facebook and other tech giants following their bids to comply with the EU's code of practice against disinformation on Tuesday (29 January).