NEW YORK – Facebook is updating its “trending” feature, which shows popular topics discussed and shared on its site, in an effort to root out fake news and misinformation.
The social media giant says it will now look at the number of publishers posting about the same topic — not just the number of people sharing or commenting on single posts or articles — when assembling its list.
That’s intended to ensure that the topics “reflect real world events being covered by multiple outlets.”
Facebook will also stop personalizing the topics based on users’ interests.
After criticism of the way it has allowed misinformation to spread on its site in the months leading up to the election, Facebook in December announced a slew of new measures to curb the spread of fake news.
