Completely agree with him here, but it needs to go further.
"Facebook should do more to tackle the spread of "cancerous" fake news, and help fund original journalism, newsreader Jon Snow has said.
The journalist, who has presented Channel 4 News since 1989, gave the MacTaggart Lecture at the annual Edinburgh TV festival.
He said Facebook's inaction was a "threat to democracy".
Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg says the company is "experimenting" with ways to support the news industry.
'Moral duty'
In a 50-minute speech, Mr Snow said Facebook had helped Channel 4 News find a wider audience for its reports, but left publishers at the mercy of the social network.
"Facebook's principles are seldom explained in detail and can change overnight at Mr Zuckerberg's whim," said Mr Snow.
He also criticised the company's reputation for allowing false stories to spread unchallenged.
"Facebook enabled the story, 'Pope endorses Trump for President'," he said.
"That engaged more than a million people during the US elections. That same algorithm that prioritised many amazing reports of ours, also prioritised fakery on a massive scale.
"Facebook has a moral duty to prioritise veracity over virality. It is fundamental to our democracy."
Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41036802
"Facebook should do more to tackle the spread of "cancerous" fake news, and help fund original journalism, newsreader Jon Snow has said.
The journalist, who has presented Channel 4 News since 1989, gave the MacTaggart Lecture at the annual Edinburgh TV festival.
He said Facebook's inaction was a "threat to democracy".
Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg says the company is "experimenting" with ways to support the news industry.
'Moral duty'
In a 50-minute speech, Mr Snow said Facebook had helped Channel 4 News find a wider audience for its reports, but left publishers at the mercy of the social network.
"Facebook's principles are seldom explained in detail and can change overnight at Mr Zuckerberg's whim," said Mr Snow.
He also criticised the company's reputation for allowing false stories to spread unchallenged.
"Facebook enabled the story, 'Pope endorses Trump for President'," he said.
"That engaged more than a million people during the US elections. That same algorithm that prioritised many amazing reports of ours, also prioritised fakery on a massive scale.
"Facebook has a moral duty to prioritise veracity over virality. It is fundamental to our democracy."
Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41036802