For example, though it has repeatedly stated its support for the news industry and entered partnerships with various publishers and media researchers, Facebook has earned the ire of journalists and publishers around the world when it has unilaterally changed how news appears on its platform. The political data company’s tactics have drawn scrutiny in the past, so the surprise of these revelations came more from the “how” than the “what.” The real stunner was learning how complicit Facebook and WhatsApp, which is owned by the social media behemoth, had been in aiding Cambridge Analytica in its work. Zuckerberg also said Facebook would begin requiring people who want to run ads on the social network addressing political issues to verify their identity and location. In December 2016, shortly after the US presidential election, Facebook and five US news and fact-checking organizations—ABC News, Associated Press, FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, and Snopes—entered a partnership to combat misinformation.
Facebook states that people running popular pages will now have to verify their identity as part of its continued efforts to stem fake news and propaganda.