Facebook targets coordinated campaigns spreading fake news

San Francisco

FRAUDSTERS spreading falsehood on social media are getting more sophisticated. Facebook Inc says it's rising to the challenge.

The owner of the world's most used social network is taking aim at organisations that launch coordinated campaigns to sway political opinion and spread lies by way of fake accounts. As Facebook's network grows and becomes a forum for political debate, some organisations have been taking advantage maliciously, including during the elections in the US and France, the company said in a white paper posted last week by its top security executives.