Germany to trial Facebook's fake news filters

Facebook has announced its intention to trial its new fake news filters in Germany following the country's decision to fine the company for fake news posts

After receiving widespread criticism for its hand in spreading fake news during the 2016 US Presidential election, Facebook will trial its new fake news filters in Germany, according to an article from the Financial Times.

The filter will allow Facebook users to tag any stories they believe to be fake. Tagged stories will be checked by independent investigative news service Corretiv, who will in turn flag the story as disputed if there is a concern about the story’s truth, and explain why said story was flagged.

Disputed stories will be hidden from Facebook’s news feed and banned from ads, although the site will not ban users from posting disputed stories.

The announcement of a fake news filter trial comes weeks after Germany revealed its intention to fine Facebook in the future if it failed to remove fake news within a day of posting.