The dangers caused by the proliferation of misinformation – or ‘fake news’ – via social media platforms and instant messaging services are not easy to counteract. By the internet’s very nature, online communications are difficult to regulate as information shared by users in one jurisdiction can be easily made available to users in many others. In some cases, platforms themselves have acted to combat fake news beyond the superficial step of maintaining a misinformation policy. For example, Meta’s Oversight Board, a quasi-judicial body created by the parent company of Facebook and Instagram to review content moderation decisions on those platforms, has reviewed individual decisions by Meta concerning the moderation of misinformation, and has made policy recommendations regarding the management of misinformation.
