Facebook Tries to Help Users Better Assess Stories in Its News Feed

Facebook's users in the US will see a news publisher’s Wikipedia page and how frequently an article has been shared on Facebook as part of the updates the company tries to fight the spread of false and sensational information through its platform. Users will see an “about this article” button with additional information, including related articles on the same topic, other recent stories posted by the publisher and a link to the publisher’s Wikipedia page. The changes, expected to be rolled out to all US users by the end of the week, will ultimately be rolled out internationally as well. Facebook spokeswoman Lauren Svensson said the company had turned to Wikipedia because the site is “the largest and most popular general reference work on the internet” and “a well-known site that people recognize as a comprehensive source of information.”

Wikipedia, a collaborative site that can be edited any time by anyone, has also been caught in the crosshairs of misinformation. But the site, supported by the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, has also become a go-to source used across semantic, search, and linked platforms