Earlier this week Google announced that its advertising tools will soon be closed to websites that promote fake news, a policy that could cut off revenue streams for publications that peddle hoaxes on platforms like Facebook.
The Verge reports:
The decision comes at a critical time for the tech industry, whose key players have come under fire for not taking neccesary steps to prevent fake news from proliferating across the web during the 2016 US election. It's thought that, given the viral aspects of fake news, social networks and search engines were gamed by partisan bad actors intending to influence the outcome of the race.
What constitutes 'fake' news?
Who decides what is 'fake'?
Who is a 'partisan bad actor'?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 20 2016, @05:40PM
Cue the rightists jumping all over themselves to scream that Google and Facebook are private companies and aren't bound by the constitution, so they can do whatever they want.
...Curious why they haven't yet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 20 2016, @06:10PM
Actually this time they're silent on that regard because "freedom of speech"!! It is amusing, I wish I could pull up the comments whee constitutional worries were blown off by "its a private company, don't like it? Go somewhere else!"
All because they think it is some attempt to dethrone their guy or come down on conservatives.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 20 2016, @08:36PM
Actually, I see this argument more from leftist when a company is doing something to promote their narrative, and more resignation from the right that the market will eventually correct itself.
But yes, they are private companies, and they can do as they wish.
And people are free to complain about it (event though news of such will never get reported now) and take their business elsewhere.
But now we have a clear indication that google and Facebook are in the business of yellow journalism, and I'm happy to watch it all burn.