'Crazy Idea' That Fake News Shared on Facebook Helped Elect Trump, Zuckerberg Says

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Facebook(LOS ANGELES) — Did fake news posted on Facebook and shared across the platform lead to the rise of Donald Trump? Mark Zuckerberg says it’s a “pretty crazy idea.”

At the Techonomy conference in Half Moon Bay, California, the Facebook CEO said the social media site was not responsible for Trump winning the U.S. presidential election.

“The idea that fake news on Facebook influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea,” he said.
Zuckerberg later added: “If you believe that then I don’t think you have internalized the message Trump supporters are trying to send in this election.”

Facebook, which boasts 1.7 billion monthly active users, has become a major source of news for many Americans. The social media site came under fire in May when Republicans alleged Facebook was censoring conservative stories or sources in its trending section. Facebook denied the claims, but fired its editors and changed its algorithm.

Since the change, many stories proven to be false have appeared in the trending topics section. And because of the algorithm, it’s possible for a Facebook user to see more stories that cater to their political affiliation,regardless of whether they’re true or not.

“My goal, and what I care about, is giving people the power to share so we can make the world more open and connected,” Zuckerberg said at the conference. “That requires building a good version of News Feed. We still have work to do on that. We’re going to keep improving it.”

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