Google and Facebook has been cast into the limelight for the past two weeks as many people believed that the prevalence of fake news stories on both sides have affected the outcome of the recent U.S. Presidential Elections. In order to prevent this from happening again, both companies have announced that they will be implementing measures that would begin barring websites who host fake news from using their advertising platforms.
On Google’s side of things, the company will be updating its policy to prevent websites that misrepresent content from using its AdSense advertising network. This update would see websites who publish fake news from using AdSense, alongside websites which host pornographic or violent content. On Facebook’s side of things, the company will also be updating its advertising policies, explicitly stating that Facebook’s ban on misleading and deceptive content will also apply to fake news.
While both Google and Facebook’s decision to do so is a step in the right direction, only time will tell if their methods will prove effective in combating the prevalence of fake news on their services.
Source: Reuters
