Facebook (https://www.Facebook.com/) today announced the expansion of its third-party fact-checking program to 10 African countries including: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon and Senegal. In partnership with Agence France-Presse (AFP) (http://bit.ly/2Voxvyh), the France 24Observers(http://bit.ly/2MlNU2A), Pesa Check (http://bit.ly/2IykrRG) and Dubawa (http://bit.ly/2AVaQQR) this programme forms part of its work in helping assess the accuracy and quality ofnews people find on Facebook, whilst reducing the spread of misinformation on its platform.

Working with a network of fact-checking organizations,certified (http://bit.ly/2p0dBxC) by thenon-partisan International Fact-Checking Network, third-party fact-checking will now be available inEthiopia,Zambia,SomaliaandBurkina FasothroughAFP,UgandaandTanzaniathrough both Pesa Check andAFP,Democratic Republic of Congo and Coted'Ivoirethrough the France 24Observersand AFP,Guinea Conakrythrough the France 24Observers, andGhanathrough Dubawa.

Feedback (http://bit.ly/2AULTF0) from the Facebook community isone of many signals Facebook uses to raise potentially false stories to fact-checkers for review.Local articleswill be fact-checked alongside the verification ofphotos and videos. If one of our fact-checkingpartners identifies a story as false, Facebook will show it lower in News Feed, significantly reducing its distribution.

Kojo Boakye, Facebook Head of Public Policy, Africa, said: "The expansion of third-party fact-checking to now cover 15 countries in a little over a year shows firsthand our commitment and dedication to the continent, alongside our recent local language expansion as part of this programme. Taking steps to help tackle false news on Facebook is a responsibility we take seriously, we know misinformation is a problem, and these are important steps in continuing to address this issue. We know that third-party fact-checking alone is not the solution, it is one of many initiativesand programmes we are investing in to helpto improve the quality of information people see on Facebook. While we've made great progress, we will keep investing to ensure Facebook remains a place for all ideas, but not for the spread of false news."

When third-party fact-checkers fact-check a news story, Facebook will show these inRelated Articles(http://bit.ly/2oqAnP1) immediately below the story in News Feed. Page Admins andpeople on Facebookwill also receive notifications if they try to share a story or have shared one in the past that's been determined to be false, empowering people to decide for themselves what to read, trust, and share.

Providing fact-checking in English and French across eight countries,Phil Chetwynd, AFP Global News Director said:"AFP is delighted to be expanding its fact-checking project with Facebook. We are known for the high quality of our journalism from across Africa and we will be leveraging our unparalleled network of bureaus and journalists on the continent to combat misinformation."

Eric Mugendi, Managing Editor from Pesa Checkwho will provide fact-checking services in Swahili and English added:"Social networks like Facebook haven't just changed how Africans consume the news.Social media isoften the primary access to digital content or the 'Internet' for many Africans. They shape our perceptions of the world, our public discourse, and how we interact with public figures. This project helps us dramatically expand our fact-checking to debunk claims that could otherwise cause real-world harm. The project helps us respond more quickly and directly. We're seeing real positive results in our interactions with both publishers and the public itself. The project also helps our fact-checks reach a far larger audience than we would otherwise. This has helped us better understand the information vacuum and other viral dynamics that drive the spread of false information in Africa. Our growing impact is a small but tangible contribution to better informed societies in Africa."

Caroline Anipah, Programme Officer, Dubawa (Ghana)added: "Dubawa is excited to be in Ghana where the misinformation and disinformation have become widespread as a result of technological advancement and increasing internet penetration. Dubawa intends to raise the quality of information available to the public with the aim of curbing the spread of misinformation and disinformation and promoting good governance and accountability."

Supporting the expansion to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea Conakry andCoted'IvoireDerek Thomson, editor-in-chief of the France 24 Observers,said:"Our African users are constantly sending us questionable images and messages they've received via social media, asking us 'Is this true? Can you check it?' It's our responsibility as fact-checking journalists to verify the information that's circulating and get the truth back out there. Participating in the Facebook programme helps ensure that our fact-checks are reaching the people who shared the false news in the first place."

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Facebook.

Media Contact:
Idea Engineers
PR agency for Facebook in South Africa
Email:facebook@ideaengineers.co.za

Note to Editors:

For more information about how the fact-checking programme works: http://bit.ly/2OsrS0v

For tips on how to spot false news: http://bit.ly/2oo08Q8