New Flock plug-in targets fake news -- you'll never guess what happens next

Fake and misleading stories plague the internet and there's always a risk that if not spotted they can influence decisions within an organization.

Enterprise collaboration platform Flock is aiming to stop the spread of unreliable news, especially within business environments with the launch of a Fake News Detector plug-in.

Flock FND identifies and flags content from sources deemed misleading, unverified or false when users share it on the Flock messaging and collaboration platform. When users unknowingly share suspect URLs into Flock chat boxes, Flock FND cross-references the link within a database of more than 600 verified fake news sources. When content from an unreliable source is identified, Flock FND immediately flags it and warns users that it is fake news. A highly visible icon and red bar alongside the preview of the URL makes the alert hard to ignore. Users then have the option to remove the content before it spreads further.

"Optimal decisions are based on reliable information; however, employees rarely have the time to validate each piece of information they receive or consider," says Flock CEO Bhavin Turakhia. "Unfortunately, misinformation breeds misinformation, and through the simple means of sharing in today's digital ecosystem, one unreliable piece of content can easily spread like wildfire throughout an entire organization and beyond. With the Flock Fake News Detector, we’ve taken a socially responsible and proactive step to counter this global epidemic and support organizational productivity, efficiency and decision-making."

The plug-in is available from the Flock app store and there's a video of the detector in action below.

Photo credit: Stuart Miles / Shutterstock