Facebook says it does not fact check politicians’
statements on its site, even if they might
be false.
The social network operator says that’s because
such statements could be newsworthy —
and it doesn’t want to act as a “referee” for
political debates.
Facebook works with third-party fact checkers,
including The Associated Press, to weed
out misinformation, such as false news and
manipulated photos and videos.
But Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of
global affairs, said the company has exempted
politicians’ posts from its fact checking program
for more than a year. But if politicians share
previously debunked links or other material,
those will be demoted and banned from being
included in ads.