Facebook has taken new steps to combat the spread of "fake news" on its network. Soon, users will be able to flag stories that seem suspicious, and the International Fact-Checking Network will decide whether or not to put a label on the story designating it as false.
The new system will work like this: If a story on Facebook is patently false — saying that a celebrity is dead when they are still alive, for example — then users will see a notice that the story has been disputed or debunked. People who try to share stories that have been found false will also see an alert before they post. Flagged stories will appear lower in the news feed than unflagged stories.
Users will also be able to report potentially false stories to Facebook or send messages directly to the person posting a questionable article.
Facebook will apparently be focusing on flagging stories by websites specifically set up to spread false news (i.e. reports that a celebrity is dead when they are not), and websites that are designed to mimic actual news sources.
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