An opinion piece we ran earlier this week on the so-called fake news problem generated a lot of discussion among the community and a lot of differing opinions: Why fake news is a huge threat to democracy and both Apple and the rest of us need to respond.
Should Apple and other tech companies have a responsibility to play a more active role in filtering out fake news from their platforms? Or should it be solely left up to the reader?
If you ask Apple CEO Tim Cook, tech companies do have a responsibility, and executives from the company also hinted this week that Apple is already working on it with its Apple News platform.
When asked about the fake news problem during an interview last week, Cook said “all of us in technology and services own a responsibility for it. We don’t have all the answers by any means. We need to work on it.” And Apple’s Eddy Cue echoed those comments in a separate interview this week, hinting that Apple is already working on it with its approval system for Apple News allowing it to “vet and be sure that the Apple News providers are legitimate.”
But another camp, from which many voiced their opinion in the comment section on Ben’s piece earlier this week, would say that it crosses a fine line into possible censorship and that it should instead be the reader’s responsibility to discern real news from fake news.
Where does that leave satire sites that walk a grey area between what might be considered fake news to some and comedy to others? Should platforms that deliver content be responsible for making sure the reader knows they are reading a parody or determining what qualifies as fake news?
You had a lot to say earlier, so we are continuing the conversation in today’s poll…
Are you behind Apple’s view that tech companies should do more to combat fake news?
