Apple CEO Tim Cook wants the tech industry to take action against the “fake news” articles polluting the web.
In a rare interview, Cook said, “We have to do a big campaign. We have to look at all demographics.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, “All tech companies need to create tools that help reduce the amount of fake news,” Cook said.
Other major tech CEOs, such as Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, have spoken out on the issue in recent months.
According to The Telegraph, he said hoaxes and hoaxes are “killing people’s minds.”
And he called the “fake news” epidemic “a big problem in much of the world.”
The term “fake news” was originally coined to describe online stories that are created to deceive readers. These stories are often shared on Facebook and other social networking sites to benefit creators. Other times, the story is essentially propaganda made for political purposes.
Stories of this kind received widespread attention before and after the American election. Received clicks.
It can be very difficult for web surfers to distinguish legitimate news sources from fakes.
That’s where companies like Apple come in.
“Many of us are right now in the complaining category and don’t know what to do,” Cook said in an interview with The Telegraph as part of a multi-day trip to Europe.
He sought both technical and intellectual solutions.
“We need a modern version of the public service announcement campaign,” Cook told the newspaper.
What he described is the music for advocates of media literacy.
“It’s like the modern kid, the digital kid, needs a new course,” Cook said.
Some schools have sporadic efforts to teach media literacy that focus on digital skills, but they are by no means universal.
When asked if Apple would commit to funding the PSA campaign, an Apple spokesperson said the company had no further comment on Cook’s interview.
Apple’s CEO also suggested that tech companies could help weed out fake stories, but he added that “we have to squeeze this out without trampling on freedom of speech and the press.”
Apple’s own Apple News app is rated as a relatively reliable place to find information.
The company “reviews publishers participating in Apple News.” BuzzFeed pointed out last December.
The app also has a “report concern feature that allows users to flag fake news and hate speech.”
Facebook recently started working with fact-checkers to test “warning labels” that appear when users share hoaxes.
In an interview with the newspaper, Cook expressed optimism that the “fake news” plague was “short-lived and I doubt people would want it in the end.”
CNNMoney (New York) First published February 11, 2017: 8:00 PM ET
