The labels will immediately begin to appear on pages owned by media such as Russia Today, a public body, and Xinhua, in China. Starting next week, users in the United States will begin to see the label appear on the individual publications of these stores - labels that may eventually be introduced in other countries.
Nathaniel Gleicher, chief security officer for Facebook, told CNN Business on Thursday that the company was taking such an approach so that users would know more about where their information came from.
"The concern for us is that the state media combine the power to set the agenda of a media entity with the strategic support of a state," said Gleicher. "If you are reading the cover of a demonstration, it is really important that you know who is writing the cover and what motivation they have. The purpose of this is to make sure the audience will see and understand who is behind it."
Facebook first announced plans for the labels in December, but the deployment comes as state-controlled media, particularly from countries such as China and Russia, have muddied the waters around the pandemic. coronavirus and unrest regarding the murder of George Floyd. of the police. State media, particularly in China, captured the recent protests last week, wondering why some US officials praised the protesters in Hong Kong while criticizing the American protesters.
Later this summer, Facebook will also prevent state-controlled media from broadcasting advertisements in the United States, "out of caution" before the November US elections, said Gleicher.
Gleicher said there are no plans to roll out advertising bans elsewhere because state media is the only form of local news in some parts of the world.
Gleicher said Facebook had consulted 65 experts to create its own criteria to define which outlets to label as state-controlled media. These criteria include the source of funding for the point of sale, editorial transparency, ownership structure and governance, internal responsibility mechanisms and confirmation of the independence of third parties. An entity may be publicly funded, but deemed independent. Although an initial list of outlets, including CCTV and Xinhua, Russia Today and Sputnik, will immediately receive the label, Gleicher warned that the list is "dynamic" and will change over time. Entities can also use their label.
