WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Facebook launches fake news filter in France.

According to Le Monde, one of Facebook’s partners, the French campaign is similar to an initiative that Facebook launched in the US late last year, and in Germany last month. Both Facebook and Google faced widespread criticism for allowing fake news to spread during the US presidential election, and European leaders have expressed concern that such misinformation could impact upcoming elections across the continent.

Under the system, if an article is reported as false by users, it will be sent to a portal that all eight media companies have access to, according to Le Monde. If at least two of the companies confirm the article as false (with links to support their claims), the content will be flagged as disputed in Facebook’s News Feed, and users will see a warning before they share it. Advertising against the article will also be blocked, Le Monde reports.

In addition to Le Monde, Facebook’s French partners include Agence France-Presse (AFP), BFM-TV, Franceinfo, France Médias Monde, L’Express, Libération, and 20 Minutes. Facebook also announced that it will support CrossCheck — an initiative that will allow users to submit questions and gather information from 16 French media partners. CrossCheck was launched by the First Draft News coalition, with support from the Google News Lab.

When voters are already distrustful of of media institutions, assembling a number of them to perform a top-down determination of what the real news is, seems liable to backfire.