Google and Facebook block fake news sites on advertising platforms

Google and Facebook are going to block sites that spread fake news on their advertising platforms. Both companies have said so. In the United States, the companies are under fire because fake news has influenced the elections, according to some.

Many of the fake news sites rely on Facebook to distribute the articles and Google’s advertising platform AdSense to make money. As a result, the combination of measures taken by both companies can affect sites with fake news. It is still unknown how both companies will distinguish between sites with real news and those with fake news, Reuters news agency reported.

Google adjusts the rules for AdSense, while Facebook in turn tightens the conditions for its advertising platform. Fake news sites have come under fire because in the United States many people suspect that such sites and the spread of fake news on Facebook influenced the election results. Facebook foreman Mark Zuckerberg rejected that idea a few days ago, but the social network is now going to adjust its advertising rules. At the same time, according to Buzzfeed, employees have formed a working group to see how they can remove fake news altogether from users’ news feeds.

Sites with fake news make money by advertising next to articles that the creators have made up themselves and that are therefore incorrect. The practice has now attracted attention in the United States, but such sites can also be found in the Benelux.