FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

VICE News

Facebook Wants to Stem the Flow of Fake News into Germany Before Election

The company is trying to learn from its mistakes, it would seem.

Facebook is trying to learn from its mistakes, it would seem, after it was heavily criticized for enabling the spread of "fake news" stories, which some say hijacked the minds of voters in the United States in the run-up to the election.

Amid that criticism, the social media giant developed a feature that essentially "flags" disputed news stories on its site. Now, Facebook plans to bring that feature to Germany, whose major election in September will determine Chancellor Angela Merkel's future as the nation's leader.

Last month, German intelligence officials expressed concern over "growing evidence for attempts to influence" the upcoming federal election, the New York Times reported, and have watched warily as U.S. officials attributed the flood of fake news to a carefully constructed Russian propaganda effort. Germany worries that it may be Russia's next target in its alleged efforts to destabilize Western democracies through the spread of misinformation about its political candidates.

Read more on VICE News.