In a few months, you may no longer have to write “FAKE” below your friends’ Facebook posts. Fake news warning alerts appear to be rolling out to Facebook users in the United States after first appearing in Germany in January.
The new alerts, flagged with help from independent fact-checkers, are designed to prevent users from sharing fake news stories unwittingly, but they will not prevent people from sharing the story if they still choose.
When you try to share a story that has been flagged as phony, Facebook will insert an alert at the bottom of the post creation window (pictured at top). The alert will include a red triangle with an exclamation point, and a message such as “Disputed by Snopes.com and Associated Press.”
