Facebook takes steps to curb fake news

NEW YORK (AP) – Facebook is taking new measures to curb the spread of fake news. It will partner with outside fact-checkers to sort honest news reports from made-up stories.

Facebook will make it easier for users to report fake news when they see it. If enough people report a story as fake, Facebook will pass it to third-party fact-checking organizations.

Stories that flunk a fact check will remain on Facebook, but will be flagged as “disputed,” which will push them lower down in people’s news feeds. Users will see those flags.

Facebook says it’s also eliminating the ability for spammers to masquerade as real news organizations.

This news comes as a new survey from the Pew Research Center has found that two-thirds of U.S. adults say fake news stories are causing confusion about the basic facts of current events.

Fake political stories have drawn outsized attention recently because of the possibility that they influenced public perceptions and could have swayed the U.S. presidential election.

Nearly a third of respondents in the Pew survey said they “often” see made-up political news stories online. Less than a half said they were “very confident” that they could spot fabricated news. Another 45 percent was “somewhat” confident.

The Pew survey was conducted December 1 through 4 among 1,002 U.S. adults.