WASHINGTON: Facebook announced on Wednesday the creation of a Journalism Project aimed at fostering “a healthy news ecosystem” and curbing the spread of fake news.

The move comes with the world’s leading social network under intense pressure for allowing misinformation to flourish and sometimes go viral, with some critics claiming fake news affected the US presidential election.

“We know that our community values sharing and discussing ideas and news, and as a part of our service, we care a great deal about making sure that a healthy news ecosystem and journalism can thrive,” project director Fidji Simo said in a blog post. “That’s why today we’re announcing a new programme to establish stronger ties between Facebook and the news industry.”

Simo said the project will mean “collaborating with news organisations to develop products, learning from journalists about ways we can be a better partner, and working with publishers and educators on how we can equip people with the knowledge they need to be informed readers in the digital age.” One of the elements will involve development of “new storytelling formats” and other ways to help news partners.

Published in Dawn January 12th, 2017