Facebook not a traditional tech company, Zuckerberg opens up in live chat

Facebook CEO says curbing fake news has been prioritised

In a live year-end chat, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spoken at length about the role he sees the social networking service essaying when it comes to information.

Speaking to COO Sheryl Sandberg, Zuckerberg also shed light on Facebook's fight with fake news.



Unlike earlier instances where Zuckerberg underplayed the severity of the fake news problem and shunned the title of a media company, the Facebook CEO appeared to have modified his original stance in the chat.

“Facebook is a new kind of platform. It’s not a traditional technology company,” he said. Going a step further, he said, “You know, we build technology and we feel responsible for how it’s used.”

Later in the talk, Zuckerberg reflected on how Facebook had prioritised curbing fake news. “This is just something that I’m proud that people in this company take so seriously,” he said.

Last month, Zuckerberg outlined tools and ways to remedy the problem. Facebook announced it would make it easier to report false content, work with third-party verification organisations and journalists on fact-checking, and explore posting warning labels on content flagged as false. The company will also try to prevent fake-news providers from making money through its advertising system, as previously announced.



Zuckerberg said Facebook must exercise caution on this account to ensure that sharing of opinions or accurate content was not restricted. “We do not want to be arbiters of truth ourselves, but instead rely on our community and trusted third parties,” he said.



This article originally appeared on Tech Crunch.