Keeping it Reel: Fact-Checking & E-Commerce Integration with Meta AI
A proposed Facebook Reels redesign for Kleiner Perkins Design Challenge ’24.
Picture this: your grandma shares a Facebook post claiming that drinking lemon water cures every known disease.
Funny? Yes.
True? Not so much.
This light-hearted example underscores a serious challenge — Facebook’s pivotal role in disseminating information, factual or otherwise. It is chain messages like these that fuel today’s misinformation pandemic.
To mitigate the damage done, my proposed redesign will focus on Facebook Reels to combat misinformation. Other benefits I hope to achieve from this redesign will be (1) improved positive perception and use of Meta AI and (2) more usage of Facebook Marketplace.
This redesign was accomplished with a design system called Untitled UI (free version) on Figma. I hope to display my proficiency in crafting both a simple and responsive user interface (UI)— as well as an impactful user experience (UX).
TL;DR of The Solution
How It Would Work (User Perspective)
Users would interact with two key features:
Fact-Checking Modal
Upon encountering a Reel with potentially misleading content, a modal powered by Meta AI would pop up, providing a succinct explanation from fact-checkers or general facts from training data if no explicit reason is given. This is reinforced with a follow-up in the comments for additional details.
Facebook Marketplace Integration in Reels
A new cart button with the price of the most prominent product would appear above the like button. It is the easiest-to-reach button (thumb region). While watching a Reel, the closest product match identified by Meta Vision is displayed, allowing users to purchase directly or explore similar and recommended products through infinite scrolling. If specific marketplace links were added by the author, this would take the place of the closest product match.
Why It is Valuable
This solution enhances the Reels experience by ensuring information credibility and simplifying the path to purchase. It addresses the vital need for verified content and leverages the engaging format of Reels to drive e-commerce.
Who It is Valuable To and Why:
- General Users: Get accurate content and a streamlined shopping experience.
- Content Creators: Can link their content to products, increasing monetization opportunities.
- Advertisers/Businesses: Gain a platform for accurate product placement and potential sales boost.
Potential Risks/Benefits
Risks
AI could inaccurately flag content or push too much consumerism, and there may be privacy concerns with product matching.
Benefits
More informed users, reduced misinformation, increased sales, and a better connection between content and commerce.
Success would be measured through
- Engagement and interaction rates with the fact-check modals.
- Conversion rates and sales data from the integrated Marketplace feature.
- User feedback on the accuracy of content and shopping experience.
- Monitoring misinformation spread before and after implementation.
Validation would involve A/B testing, user surveys, and performance analytics to ensure the features meet community needs and business goals effectively.
The Thought Process — Problem characterization to a constraint-satisfying Solution
In solving this problem, my process is as follows:
First, Breaking down the factors that lead to the problem
Less people are using Facebook (Silberling, 2022)
Second, narrowing down the problem-factors I want to solve by characterizing it by:
- Identifying its Initial/Current State with evidence
- Visualizing a Goal State
- Recognizing Key Obstacles and Constraints hindering us from achieving the goal state
- Decide on the Scale of the problem I want to tackle
Last, I craft a solution that brings us as close to the goal state while satisfying the constraints listed.
Breaking down the factors that lead to the problem
I started by examining the current challenges faced by Facebook. Breaking down the problems helped me adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach:
Learn more about each factor in my appendix at the end of this article. I have decided to move my research section there for brevity.
After this, I identified a problem I wanted to dig deeper into: misinformation and increased Facebook Marketplace usage. I decided to focus on redesigning Facebook Reels because of its prevalence today.
Characterizing the Problem
The Current State of Facebook Reels
Facebook Reels, a feature similar to TikTok’s short video format, has seen considerable growth and user engagement. It has become a central part of Facebook’s strategy, notably in terms of content consumption and creation (QuickFrame, 2023). With plays and reshares of Reels content rapidly increasing, the feature has cemented itself as a significant trend on Facebook, second only to platforms like TikTok and Instagram (Roses, 2023). From a business standpoint, Facebook could help Meta earn more by taking advantage of the popularity of reels.
In the Philippines — where I am from — social media plays a pivotal role in information dissemination. Facebook’s influence is profound. Often referred to as “the internet” in the Philippines (Castillo, 2021;).
The platform has also been associated with serious concerns, notably in the propagation of misinformation and disinformation (Lema, 2021). This negative impact was especially prominent in the context of political disinformation. Layug (2021) explained that during the 2016 and 2019 elections, and fears persisted that these patterns would recur in the 2022 national polls. Moreover, health misinformation predating the pandemic, such as rumors surrounding the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, significantly decreased vaccination rates in the Philippines.
The Goal State
The goal is to combat misinformation and promote e-commerce using Facebook Reels.
This involves enhancing Facebook’s responsibility in content moderation and potentially increasing the use of Meta’s AI technologies to identify and flag misleading content. Additionally, Reels can be optimized to promote e-commerce, capitalizing on its growing popularity and user engagement.
Key Obstacles
Several technological and sociopolitical challenges emerge in this endeavor:
- Cost of AI Implementation: Regularly using AI to fetch news data and fact-check content could be financially demanding for Facebook.
- AI Competency: There is an acknowledged gap in the capabilities of Facebook’s AI compared to leaders in the field like OpenAI and Google. This gap might affect the effectiveness of any AI-driven initiatives within Facebook Reels.
- Political Resistance: Initiatives to control misinformation might face resistance across the political spectrum, especially in a highly engaged digital society like the Philippines.
Scale of Implementation
The scale of this project encompasses the entire Facebook user base, with a particular focus on Reel enthusiasts. Initially, we can test the redesigned feature on Facebook, before potentially expanding to Instagram Reels, which could provide valuable insights and feedback for further development and refinement.
The Solution
To tackle the intertwined challenges of misinformation and underutilized e-commerce potential within Facebook Reels, our solution is twofold:
Fact-Checking Integration with Meta AI
Facebook (2021) already has current solutions in place for people who repeatedly share misinformation. However, the “misinformation” in question is usually not explained when an independent fact checker flags it.
I introduce an automated, AI-driven fact-checking modal in Reels that operates in real-time. If the reasons for flagging are added by a fact-checker, this modal simply reiterates their point verbatim. However, if there is none, Meta AI evaluates content as it appears on Facebook Reels with general facts from its training data. This tool utilizes advanced algorithms and natural language processing techniques developed by Meta Research to assess the veracity of information presented in videos. When misinformation is detected, the tool provides a visible fact-check label and links to verified sources, empowering users to discern truth from fiction.
By embedding this functionality directly into the user interface, we ensure that fact-checking is an integral, unobtrusive part of the user experience.
Marketplace Synergy
Parallel to the fact-checking initiative, we propose a seamless integration of Facebook Marketplace within the Reels interface.
A new cart button with the price of the most prominent product would appear above the like button On button press, a tab will appear displaying the closest product match “seen” by Meta Vision (similar to GPT-4 Vision) in the Facebook Marketplace. However, if the author added specific links, the catalog would be replaced by their products.
The section below is a mix of similar and Meta-recommended (based on history) products. As users watch Reels, they can infinitely scroll through other products available for purchase. This taps into the impulse buying behavior that short, engaging videos often inspire. This provides a direct avenue for increased sales.
Implementation Strategy
Our approach will be methodical and data-driven, starting with a pilot program targeting Reels with the highest engagement metrics. By monitoring performance and user feedback, we will iterate on the design to fine-tune both the fact-checking accuracy and the e-commerce experience. This phased implementation allows us to manage costs effectively while scaling the solution across the global Facebook community.
Appendix # 1
Breaking it down — Fishbone Diagram content
Misinformation Spread
This has been a longstanding issue for Facebook, where the platform has been criticized for not doing enough to combat the spread of fake and misleading information. Misinformation can negatively impact the platform’s reputation, user trust, and advertisers’ willingness to spend on the platform (Maslow, 2023).
Encouraging More Users to E-commerce
Facebook has a significant opportunity to integrate e-commerce capabilities into its platform. By providing tools for businesses to create online stores, process payments, and manage inventory within Facebook, Meta can create additional revenue streams and encourage more businesses to advertise on their platform (Maslow, 2023).
Safety and Security Challenges
Historically, Facebook has been reactive rather than proactive in addressing safety and security issues. The platform now embeds teams focusing on these issues directly into product development, allowing for a more integrated approach to tackling potential abuses (Meta, 2021).
Changes to Ad Tracking
With increased scrutiny of data protection, changes have been made to prevent the tracking of user behavior. This has impacted Meta Platforms’ ability to track user behavior outside of its websites, affecting the efficacy measurement of ads and potentially reducing marketer spending on Facebook and Instagram (Chia, 2022).
Competition from Other Platforms
Facebook faces stiff competition from other social media and information technology platforms. New platforms like TikTok have been gaining popularity, potentially taking away users and advertisers from Facebook. This has led Facebook to develop features like Reels to compete in the short-form video space.
Rising Costs Due to Metaverse Investments
Meta Platforms is investing heavily in its metaverse projects through its “Reality Labs” segment. While the potential for revenue generation in the metaverse is significant, there are concerns about the amount of investment and whether it will pay off in the long term.
