Facebook has been getting a ton of negative publicity for the past five months due to the influx of fake news on their platform. Some 82% of middle-schoolers couldn’t distinguish between an ad labeled “sponsored content” and a real news story. Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg have repeatedly addressed those claims. Yet, the two have little professional newsroom experience, and the service continued lack of improvement leads to frustration. In order to have a public face to the news division Facebook is looking to hire an experienced news executive.
Facebook is looking to hire an external individual with 20 years experience in “news, with strong track-record and understanding across the business,” according to a recent job listing. The person should have a “proven track record of building, initiating and driving new business and/or organizational opportunities.”
There is a small news team at Facebook already, but they primarily deal with publishers on their platform and help organizations monetize their content and try to solve any lingering technology issues, but they cannot speak publicly regarding the quality of the news.
Curbing fake news on Facebook is a high priority because the platform has come under fire due to the recent US election. The social media site has been blamed by some for influencing voters and has pushed Facebook’s role into the spotlight.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
