Facebook wants to eliminate fake news - But what about Infowars?

[DrLove]

Their explanation makes no sense. Fake news has to go - But false news is okay? Go Figure

Facebook officials struggled on Wednesday to explain why it permits InfoWars, a media organization that is one of the world's leading purveyors of conspiracy theories, to have a page on its platform.

The company's failure to produce a satisfactory answer on the matter came at an event Facebook organized in its Manhattan offices where the company aimed to tout its commitment to combating fake news and misinformation.

After a short presentation showcasing Facebook's efforts to fight misinformation, John Hegeman, the head of Facebook's News Feed, and Sara Su, a Facebook product specialist for News Feed, took questions from reporters.

When asked by this reporter how the company could claim it was serious about tackling the problem of misinformation online while simultaneously allowing InfoWars to maintain a page with nearly one million followers on its website, Hegeman said that the company does not "take down false news."

"I guess just for being false that doesn't violate the community standards," Hegeman said, explaining that InfoWars has "not violated something that would result in them being taken down."​

Facebook touts fight on fake news, but struggles to explain why InfoWars isn't banned