Facebook is also taking an action to discourage websites that spread fake news by pulling ads from the websites. This news came after Google announced they will pull ads from websites that produce fake news and use Adsense for their site.
Facebook is updating its policies to prohibit fake news from earning money with ads in its network, Gizmodo reported.
"While implied, we have updated the policy to explicitly clarify that this applies to fake news," a Facebook spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that the company will enforce policies and take action against sites and apps that are found violating content policies.
This may be a good news as it can discourage web owners to produce fake news. However, Facebook has no plans to remove these fake news from its News Feed.
In a previous report, the social media network was blamed for Donald Trump's election victory. The reason why many people blame the social network is because it played big role in distributing incorrect information to its billion active users, Business Insider reported.
Meanwhile, Google also announced their plans to bar fake news websites from using its ad-selling software, on Monday, Nov. 14. A Google spokesperson told Reuters that they will restrict ad serving on pages that "misrepresent, misstate, or conceal information about the publisher."
Google explained that the updated Adsense policy is for websites that spread fake news. This update may hurt their revenue from pay-per-click ads and even banned from using the company's service.
Google told the Reuters that they began working on the policy before the US election. Many commentators called out Facebook and Google for being a tool for spreading false information.
Google, Facebook, and even Twitter faced backlash over each social network's roles played during the U.S. presidential election. Together, these social media platforms became sources of information, including fake news. However, false and often malicious information that might have swayed voters toward Republican candidate have spread quickly, making the reliable sources unnoticed on news feed.