Facebook will not remove fake news

Facebook says it will not remove fake news from its platform because it does not violate its community standards.

The social network is currently running an advertising campaign in the UK that declares “fake news is not our friend”.

But it said publishers often had “very different points of view” and removing fabricated posts would be “contrary to the basic principles of free speech”.

Instead, it says posts that it deems to be fake news will be “demoted” in the news feed.

Facebook has been scrutinised for its role in spreading fake news after evidence emerged that Russia tried to influence US voters using the social network.