Alphabet’s Google and Facebook have announced measures to stop fake news from spreading on the internet.
The companies aim to check publishers from circulating fake news by restricting access to their advertising services.
The search engine giant said that it is working on a policy to avoid websites from using its AdSense advertising network, Reuters reported.
On the other hand, Facebook announced an update to its advertising policies, saying that its ban on deceptive and misleading content also applies to fake news.
A change in policy comes in the wake of criticism faced by the companies for allowing the spread of false information during the US presidential elections.
Facebook was quoted by the publication as saying: “We do not integrate or display ads in apps or sites containing content that is illegal, misleading or deceptive, which includes fake news.”
However, the social networking site’s measure is not aimed at preventing fake news sites shared by users on their news feeds.
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Similarly, Google’s policy change does not prevent fake news or hoaxes from appearing in the search results.
Google said in a statement: “Moving forward, we will restrict ad serving on pages that misrepresent, misstate, or conceal information about the publisher, the publisher’s content, or the primary purpose of the web property.”
The company did not disclose the details on how it would implement the policy change.
In a statement, Facebook CEO claimed that that at least 99% of news content on Facebook was “authentic.”
Zuckerberg said: “Of all the content on Facebook, more than 99% of what people see is authentic. Only a very small amount is fake news and hoaxes.
“The hoaxes that do exist are not limited to one partisan view, or even to politics. Overall, this makes it extremely unlikely hoaxes changed the outcome of this election in one direction or the other.”
