CALIFORNIA

To stop fake news from spreading on its platform, social media giant Facebook has launched a three-pronged strategy that constitutes deactivating accounts and content that violate its policies, reducing the distribution of inauthentic content.

Another part of its strategy in some countries is partnering with third-party fact-checkers to review and rate the accuracy of articles and posts on Facebook, Tessa Lyons, a Facebook product manager on News Feed focused on false news, said in a statement today.

The social media giant is facing criticism for its role in enabling political manipulation in several countries around the world.

“False news is bad for people and bad for Facebook. We’re making significant investments to stop it from spreading and to promote high-quality journalism and news literacy,” Lyons said.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday told the European Parliament leaders that the social networking giant is trying to plug loopholes across its services, including curbing fake news and political interference on its platform in the wake of upcoming elections globally, including in India.

Lyons said Facebook’s three-pronged strategy roots out the bad actors that frequently spread fake stories. “It dramatically decreases the reach of those stories. And it helps people stay informed without stifling public discourse,” Lyons added.