Fake news: Germany vs Facebook

With an election happening in 2017 German politicians want to tackle fake news with legislation.


A German politician has proposed that a new law would hold social media companies accountable for fake news.

Thomas Oppermann is the chairman of Germany’s Social Democratic Party.  He suggests that a failure to deal with fake news stories should result in hefty fines of up to €500,000 for each story that is not removed or corrected within 24 hours.  Other political parties in Germany are also proposing legislation to deal with fake news.

Germany will be holding federal elections in 2017.

Sources: Endgadget; Ars Technica