Facebook Labels All Breitbart Stories 'Intentionally Misleading' With Wikipedia Pop-Up

by ALLUM BOKHARI
Breitbart
Apr. 04, 2018

Facebook is displaying a link to Wikipedia's smear-job description of Breitbart News next to all Breitbart articles shared on the site. The linked Wikipedia article describes Breitbart as a "far-right site" that publishes "falsehoods, conspiracy theories, and intentionally misleading stories."

The social network, which has been under pressure from Democrats and the mainstream media since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, has added a button marked "about this article" next to all posts linking to Breitbart News pieces on the site. Currently only viewable for American users, the button brings up a pop-up screen that displays Wikipedia's misleading description of Breitbart News.

The description repeats several anti-Breitbart News obsessions popular in the corporate and left-wing media: that the site has "misogynistic, xenophobic, and racist content," and a single throwaway comment from former Executive Chairman Steve Bannon describing the site as a "platform for the alt-right." Breitbart News has consistently rejected the alt-right label, which has been applied to the site by the mainstream media.

The description also uses weasel words like "has been called" – a practice that Wikipedia's own editorial rules discourage.

The button now appears next to every Breitbart News article linked on the site.