To combat fake news, Facebook announces big measures in Germany

Frankfurt Am Main: In order to combat fake news menace in Germany, social media major Facebook announced on Sunday various measures. It comes at a time when Europe's largest economy and most populous nation enters an election year.

"It's important to us that the reports and news posted on Facebook are reliable," a blog post on the Silicon Valley firm's German website read.

German politicians have warned that populist parties and foreign nations could use fake news to try and influence parliamentary elections slated for September or October.

Facebook's new German initiative targets "unambiguously wrong reports" being shared on the social media platform.

The firm said it would offer a simpler reporting process for users to flag suspected fake news, display warnings next to statements identified as false by independent fact-checking organisations, and cut off advertising revenue to fake news sites presenting themselves as real news organisations.

Stories flagged with a fake news warning will not be eligible to be converted into an ad seen by other users or "promoted" into other users' feeds for a fee.

"We think that independent and transparent fact-checking can be a powerful instrument for journalism," Facebook said.

With AFP Inputs