Facebook promotes Alex Hardiman to lead fake news purge as head of news products
Facebook has moved to elevate Alex Hardiman, formerly of the New York Times, to its head of news products as it finally puts in place a figurehead to tackle its growing fake news problem head-on.
Facebook promotes Alex Hardiman to lead fake news purge as head of news products
Hardiman will be tasked with rooting out fabricated and misleading articles from the platform while also working alongside publishers to pen a greater amount of official news features in a rapid ascension within the social media organisation – having only joined the business in summer last year.
Hardiman brings a wealth of experience from the NYT where she was responsible for leading mobile and news products such as its mobile news app before heading up Facebook’s own pages team over the past eight months.
Outlining her new position by way of a Facebook post Hardiman said: “As a part of the Facebook Journalism Project, my colleagues and I will work collaboratively with news organizations across the spectrum to build new storytelling formats, local news communities, monetization options, and more. We will spend time building better products and tools for journalists, working hand-in-hand with Campbell Brown and her team to strengthen the relationships and value exchange between Facebook and news providers. We will also partner with teams in Facebook to continue curbing the spread of false news.”
Facebook has been forced to treat fake news as a serious threat to its integrity in recent months amidst ongoing fallout from the US presidential election amidst claims that fake news helped sway the result.