SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook on Wednesday began letting groups automatically reject posts identified as containing false information, taking aim at a part of the massive network that has drawn particular concern from misinformation watchdogs.
More than 1.8 billion people per month use Facebook Groups, which allow members to gather around topics ranging from parenting to politics.
Yet critics have said the groups are ripe targets for the spread of misleading or false information by having sometimes large audiences of like-minded users organized on a particular topic.
Administrators of “groups” at the leading social network can opt to have software automatically reject incoming posts showcasing information found to be false by third-party fact-checkers, Facebook App communities vice president Maria Smith said.
Groups were once touted by chief executive Mark Zuckerberg as a way to build more intimate communities at the world-spanning social network by providing online spaces for users to connect based on hobbies, endeavors, or other interests.
“Our research shows, those same features — privacy and community — are often exploited by bad actors, foreign and domestic, to spread false information and conspiracies,” disinformation researchers Nina Jankowicz and Cindy Otis wrote in a Wired opinion piece in 2020.
Facebook has long been under heavy pressure to prevent its platform from being used to spread misinformation on topics from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the Covid-19 pandemic and elections.
The platform on Wednesday also updated a “suspend” tool that administrators can use to temporarily stop selected members from posting, commenting or otherwise taking part in a group.
For groups seeking to incorporate new members, Facebook added the ability to promote them using email or QR codes, Smith said.
AFP currently works with Facebook’s fact checking program in more than 80 countries and 24 languages.
Under the program, which started in December 2016, Facebook pays to use fact checks from around 80 organizations, including media outlets and specialized fact checkers, on its platform, WhatsApp and on Instagram.
New Facebook tools target misinformation in users’ groups
https://arab.news/c3nma
New Facebook tools target misinformation in users’ groups
- Facebook launches new tool that lets groups automatically reject posts identified as containing false information
KFC Arabia and TBWA\RAAD’s Saudi campaign wins big at TikTok Ad Awards 2025
DUBAI: TikTok announced the winners of the TikTok Ad Awards 2025 at a ceremony held at the King Abdullah Financial District Conference Center in Riyadh on Wednesday, celebrating advertising campaigns on the platform from across the Middle East.
The top honor, G.O.A.T. (“Greatest of All Time”), which celebrates the best overall campaign combining creativity, media performance and proven effectiveness, went to the Saudi campaign “Om Bdr — 12th Ingredient,” developed by TBWA\RAAD for KFC Arabia.
The campaign was born out of Saudi user behavior on TikTok, which saw users dusting a seasoning created by a local cook named Om Bdr onto their KFC chicken. Picking up on this trend, KFC partnered with Om Bdr, adding her seasoning as its unofficial 12th spice.
Instead of focusing on trends or virality, the brand listened to its audience and “made the creator a partner,” said Ahmed Arafa, chief marketing officer at KFC Arabia.
He added: “This campaign was about respecting where the idea came from, crediting the community that discovered it, and turning cultural momentum into something real. Om Bdr’s seasoning belonged on our menu because our customers put it there first.”
The campaign emphasized authenticity, moving away from high-production studio shoots to filming inside actual KFC outlets, with minimal setup and featuring Om Bdr as herself.
As a result, KFC Arabia recorded its highest sales mix to date, while Om Bdr sold out of her own seasoning following the campaign.
“Om Bdr — 12th Ingredient” also won Gold in the Goal Digger category, which celebrates work that delivers measurable results, and Silver in the Community Core category, which highlights campaigns driven by creator and community collaborations.
The two firms also collaborated on another campaign, “Nuggets — Nugg it. Dip it. Crunch it.”, which ran across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, and won Bronze in the Sound On category.
The campaign centered on a looping audio track paired with videos focusing on picking, dipping and eating a nugget.
TikTok said the campaign promoted creator participation, with users adapting and reworking the audio in ways that felt native to the platform.
Saudi-based creative agency Habbar’s campaign, “14 Feb: Judgement Day!”, for online gift delivery service Floward, won Silver in the Goal Digger category.
The campaign took a humor-led approach to reflect the pressure and last-minute decision-making often associated with Valentine’s Day gifting, using creator collaborations and video formats designed to encourage sharing and commenting.
Other notable campaigns included “My Like First” by Lux, which ran in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and won Gold in the Community Core category, as well as “How I Crunch It” by Bugles, created by MRM and UM, which won Bronze in the Sound On category.
“The Ad Awards winners of this year show what’s possible when brands embrace TikTok not just as a media platform, but as a creative canvas,” said Shadi Kandil, general manager of global business solutions for the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa, Central and South Asia at TikTok.
