Facebook cracks down on viral hoaxes

In this edition: Facebook is cracking down on viral hoaxes; the movie "American Sniper" sparks controversy; and YouTube regular Devin Supertramp shares his best shots of 2014.

FACEBOOK CRACKS DOWN ON VIRAL HOAXES
In a statement posted to its official blog on Tuesday, Facebook announced plans to crack down on false or misleading stories. The decision comes after a growing number of requests from social networkers, who are fed up of seeing their news feed inundated with bogus stories or links to hoaxes and scams.
So the company will be tweaking its news feed software and says it will be giving users the option to flag things as a false news story via a drop down menu on each post. If a lot of Facebookers flag the same story, it won’t be removed from the platform entirely but will be downgraded within users` news feeds and a warning label will be attached to it, informing users the story may contain false information.
Facebook`s move to tackle the spread of misinformation has been warmly received online. Web users have been saying it was high time the social network took steps to combat this type of content, although many have pointed out that given the rate at which fake articles and false information appear on the site, there is a lot of work ahead.
'AMERICAN SNIPER' MOVIE SPARKS ONLINE CONTROVERSY
Released in the U.S. on January 16, Clint Eastwood`s latest film “American Sniper” took in over 100 million dollars at the box office in one weekend, and continues to draw strong audiences. But the movie, which is based on the autobiography of U.S. soldier Chris Kyle who was deployed to Iraq between 2003 and 2009 has sparked lively debate, with some web users condemning the blockbuster`s depiction of war.
It has been slammed b... Go on reading on our web site.
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