Here's Facebook's Plan to Deal With Fake News

The controversial presidential elections in the United States have finally come to an end, but for Facebook the problems are just beginning. For the social network, also the world's biggest news distribution platform, has drawn widespread criticism for failing to curb the cancerous growth of fake news and misinformation. While CEO Mark Zuckerberg dismissed the allegations as a crazy idea ("The idea that fake news on Facebook influenced the election... is a pretty crazy idea," he said), a Buzzfeed report showed that fake news garnered more engagement than real news from mainstream sources on the social network. (Who is to say mainstream media don't push their own agenda?) The reality is that fake news has always been a problem and will continue to be, irrespective of whether Facebook exists or not (although it definitely gets amplified on a platform like this), leading me to believe it is being made a convenient scapegoat. Nevertheless, it is heartening to see Facebook address the problem to the extent it can.

Update 1: As spotted by The Verge, Zuckerberg's post outlining the steps to tackle fake news on the social network is no longer available.

Update 2: And it's back.

The story was originally published on Nov. 19, 2016