Fake news 2016: Google and Facebook take aim at false and misleading news

After a very toxic and controversial Election season with an equally controversial aftermath, internet company giants Google and Facebook have been heavily bombarded with criticisms and complaints that claim that the fake and misleading news posted on their platforms helped sway the results of the U.S. elections.

With a growing outcry of the need to weed out fake news online, Google first issued a statement on Monday, Nov. 14, saying that the company now has mandated to ban websites that concoct fake news from using their online advertising services.

Facebook, on the other hand, followed suit saying, "We have updated the policy to explicitly clarify that this applies to fake news," a Facebook spokesman said in a statement. "Our team will continue to closely vet all prospective publishers and monitor existing ones to ensure compliance."

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, however, defended his social media platform, saying that he does not believe that it was the only factor when it came to swaying the votes in favor of Republican nominee and now elected American president, Donald Trump.

Despite this, many people still believe that the misleading information and fake news that get easily shared in the online platform contributed to the dissatisfying results during the election. It is also believed that the makers of these fake news websites are politically affiliated, and are aiming to tarnish the reputation of the other candidate.

Both companies only focus on their advertising policy. Meaning, the internet company giants cannot really take down the fake information or news under their sole discretion, but they have the prerogative to ban such websites from advertising or making use of ad slots in their websites.

Both Google and Facebook are also urged to be more active in policing these misinformers, especially that most of them are taking advantage of their useful platforms.