Is This A Fake Video? Facebook Cracks Down on False News

Facebook has rolled out a new feature that allows users to flag false information posted on social network, increasingly used as a newsfeed.

MOSCOW, January 21 (Sputnik) – Facebook introduced an option to report a story as false in a bid to get rid of misleading information posted on the popular social network, the company said in a press release.

"[A] post with a link to an article that many people have reported as a hoax or chosen to delete will get reduced distribution in News Feed," Facebook said, adding that fake news stories tend to receive many comments and massive coverage.

Humorous content clearly labeled as satirical will not be affected by the new feature.

The option works the same way as reporting annoying and offensive content or pornography. Interestingly, news stories that include purposefully deceitful information are "reported two and a half times more often than links to other news stories," Facebook pointed out.

However, the network will not delete posts containing links, photos or videos with misleading information. It will only warn users by adding a message that "many people on Facebook have reported that this story contains false information."

The company added that only a small amount of unscrupulous publishers will be affected by the new feature.