The Fake News Network

Mark Zuckerberg says the notion that fake news influenced the U.S. presidential election is "a pretty crazy idea."Facebook is not a free speech platform. It has a long list of rules, called Community Standards, of things you're not allowed to say or share. Naked pictures of children are a well-known example.During this election cycle, Zuckerberg personally intervened to change the rules. When Trump called for a ban on all Muslims, it was clearly hate speech, as defined by Facebook guidelines. But the CEO ordered his staff to not take it down because it was newsworthy.Facebook algorithms accidentally promoted to "trending news" a fake story about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly pledging her support for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.One of the things that has shifted, he says, is that now news is a more important part of Facebook content. "We're still working through what that means." MPRNewsMelissa Zimdar an asssistant professor of communication and media at Massachusetts’ Merrimack College, published her own tally of questionable news sites. Her list of about 130 problematic “news” sites includes those she considers to be “false, misleading, clickbait-y, Ken Doctor Episode 2329