Facebook said on Wednesday it was taking measures to fact-check content and minimize "potential harm" during Israel's Sept. 17 elections as the tech giant's COO traveled to Tel Aviv to launch a new tech incubator project called "Playground."
Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg participated in a Tel Aviv conference to announce the opening of Playground, Facebook Israel's new physical project space designed for startups, entrepreneurs, and communities.
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While addressing the conference, Sandberg said that the social network was committed to "invest in safety in the lead-up to elections in Israel."
That included "minimizing potential harm, working with third-party fact-checking organizations and setting new standards for ads transparency," Facebook said in a statement about the event, which was closed to journalists.
Sandberg's visit to the Israeli commercial hub came a day after it emerged the platform had paid hundreds of contractors to listen to and transcribe snippets of users' conversations, amid heightened scrutiny of its data collection practices.
Facebook acknowledged the transcriptions, first reported by Bloomberg, telling the news agency that they were made with users' permission, but that the practice has nonetheless been stopped.
Facebook recently settled a record $5 billion fine with the US Federal Trade Commission for misusing users' private data.
Following heightened concern over the use of the platform to spread fake stories, Facebook has signed contracts with several media outlets aimed at fact-checking widely shared content.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
