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posted by martyb on Friday November 18 2016, @08:01AM   Printer-friendly
from the no-more-profits-from-false-prophets dept.

Google and Facebook finally announced steps to tackle fake news on their respective platforms this week following increasing pressure from critics eager to halt the flow of falsehoods online.

Both companies said they will prohibit fake news websites from advertising on their platforms, thus reducing the exposure of such articles to the public while also starving the companies of an important source of advertising income.

The move comes after the companies received a wave of criticism over its role in propagating misinformation, particularly in this election cycle in which many observed that a bitter partisan war was potentially worsened by polarizing news sources touting untrue assertions. While the technology companies have in the past been hesitant to mediate the flow of news, this change might signal a change in thought as they come to grip with the real-life implications of lackluster surveillance on their platforms.

Wrongthink will not be permitted, citizens.


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by kurenai.tsubasa on Friday November 18 2016, @02:41PM

    by kurenai.tsubasa (5227) on Friday November 18 2016, @02:41PM (#428835) Journal

    Ah yes, if only it weren't for that “fake news” (WaPo excepted of course!) we'd have unlocked the “female head of state” achievement. Yeah, I get how upset y'all are. I've been on double secret probation since the election. Then why the hell did you nominate Wall Street's lizard person liaison (with a worse record on LGBT stuff than the sleazeball the other team was nominating)? Speaking of the nomination process, why not just as well put WaPo on double secret probation instead for acting like Sanders wasn't even running?

    No, Google, you don't get it. You can't stop the signal, Mal! And the more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers? Yeah, something like that.

    This isn't about any process happening on an intellectual level, and Google should know that the best way to make something popular is to make it forbidden. At least we got somebody who isn't completely terrible. Imagine if Lyin' Ted had won! It's bad enough that Pence is one unfortunate event away from the Oval Office.

    Keep on going down this path, and next time we might just get literal Hitler!

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  • (Score: 0, Troll) by oldmac31310 on Friday November 18 2016, @04:41PM

    by oldmac31310 (4521) on Friday November 18 2016, @04:41PM (#428918)

    off your meds?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @10:52PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @10:52PM (#429163)

      Take a nap, your humor reserves are running low.