The test will send user-flagged stories to Correctiv, a third-party fact checker. If the fact checker finds they are unreliable, the story will be de-prioritized in Facebook's news feed algorithm, meaning that fewer people see the story in their feed, according to the Financial Times.
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Facebook will filter 'fake news' in Germany (FB)
Facebook users will soon be able to flag news stories as fake and the social network may subsequently label the stories as "disputed" in a test of fake news filtering tools starting soon in Germany.
Angela Merkel and Mark Zuckerberg joking in 2011.
Facebook confirmed the test in a post on its German-language press site.
The Facebook test comes as Germany has had its own "fake news" problem, including one false viral story that said that Germany's oldest church was set on fire.
German officials had previously threatened internet companies like Facebook with prosecution under strict libel and slander laws if they did not curb "hate speech" and other fake news on their platforms.
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