Facebook will face up to its fake news problem

The world's biggest social media destination on Thursday pledged to do more to control how misinformation disguised as fact, is spread across its network.

In a statement that comes in the wake of a US presidential election in which much of each candidate's campaign was conducted via social media, Facebook's vice president of product management, Adam Mosseri, accepted that fake news on the site has become a genuine problem.

"We take misinformation on Facebook very seriously. We value authentic communication, and hear consistently from those who use Facebook that they prefer not to see misinformation," he said.

He also stressed that it was an issue the company has always taken seriously, taking many steps to stem the flow within its newsfeeds. However, Mosseri accepted that: "There's so much more we need to do, and that is why it's important that we keep improving our ability to detect misinformation."

However; neither Mosseri nor Facebook have detailed exactly what they plan to do.