Mar 6, 2017

Hot in Silicon Valley: Facebook's quiet "fake news" fight

Thibault Camus / AP

The social network quietly introduced a system to flag news articles in the U.S. as "disputed" when they're suspected falsehoods. The system relies on third-party fact-checkers, like Snopes and Politifact, to evaluate the factual accuracy of articles reported by users. Facebook building such a system is an about-face, since it initially denied having any role in the spread of so-called "fake news" during the U.S. presidential race. Since then, the company has slowly admitted the impact of such articles spreading to its users, and is now taking steps to provide tools to curb this.

Facebook is also testing "reactions" in messages: After expanding its iconic "Like" button a year ago with Reactions, Facebook is reportedly testing a similar feature in its Messenger app. The feature is similar to workplace chat Slack's own "Reactions" feature, which lets users respond to a message with an emoji.

Why it matters: The icons Facebook is said to be testing includes a thumbs-down "Dislike" button—something CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long said that company won't build because it can lead to negative interactions between uses.

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Axios

World coronavirus updates: Confirmed cases top 1.2 million

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

The number of novel coronavirus cases surpassed 1.2 million worldwide Saturday night, as Spain overtook Italy as the country with the most infections outside the U.S.

The big picture: About half the planet's population is now on lockdown and the global death toll was nearing 64,800, by Sunday morning, per Johns Hopkins data.

Go deeperUpdated 16 mins ago - Health

Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

U.S. coronavirus updates: Death toll surpasses 8,500

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Recorded deaths from the coronavirus surpassed 8,500 in the U.S. early Sunday, per Johns Hopkins data. The death toll in the U.S. has risen over 1,000 every day for the past four days, since April 1.

The big picture: President Trump said Saturday America's is facing its "toughest week, between this week and next week." Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the U.S. should expect to see deaths continue to rise in this period.

Go deeperUpdated 43 mins ago - Health

Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2:30 a.m. ET: 1,203,485 — Total deaths: 64,784 — Total recoveries: 247,001 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2:30 a.m. ET: 312,237 — Total deaths: 8,501 — Total recoveries: 14,997 — Map.
Public health latest: CDC launches national trackers and recommends face coverings in public. Federal government will cover costs of COVID-19 treatment for uninsured. The virus is hitting poor, minority communities harder and upending childbirth.
2020 latest: "We have no contingency plan," Trump said on the 2020 Republican National Convention. "We're having the convention at the end of August."
Business updates: Restaurants step up for health care workers. Employees are pressuring companies to provide protections during coronavirus.
Oil latest: Monday meeting among oil-producing countries to discuss supply curbs is reportedly being delayed amid tensions between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Education update: Many college-age students won't get coronavirus relief checks.
1 🏀 thing: The WNBA postpones start of training camps and season.
What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health. Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Keep ReadingUpdated 51 mins ago - Politics & Policy