The UK parliament has launched an inquiry into fake news, a new step in the worldwide panic about online news sources pumping out false reporting and propaganda.
MPs from the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee will examine the phenomenon, which one MP called a “threat to democracy”.
It comes after hoax outlets making viral stories with no basis in fact – like the Pope endorsing Donald Trump, or Queen Elizabeth being kept under house arrest – rose to prominence after being shared millions of times.
The MPs are expected to hear submissions about the ways search engines, social networks and traditional outlets interact with fake news.
Traditional bastions of journalistic integrity have not been free from the lure of fake stories, including the Washington Post and the BBC.
President Donald Trump has also taken to using the term, frequently in reference to his arch-nemesis the New York Times.
In an editorial published in the Times of London, committee chair Damian Collins MP said: “More needs to be done to inform the public about likely sources of fake news, and to close down known distributors.
“Large social media companies such as Facebook and Google accept that they have an obligation to act against the online exploitation of pirated content and to restrict access to illicit and harmful material. They also have an obligation to act to restrict the spreading of malicious fake news.”
He has suggested that networks Facebook could start verifying sources of news to help warn readers about fakes.
Facebook has already started efforts to fight fake news in Germany, which has voiced concern about the effect of false stories ahead of its elections this year.
Google has also stepped up a program of denying ad revenue to suspected fake news outlets, banning more than 200 sites.