Cutting the cord

Funding for disinformation sites has come under increased pressure this week.

Facebook and Google taking action
Following accusations that fake news influenced the outcome of the US election, social media network Facebook and search giant Google took steps to undercut the advertising opportunities for fake news sites on their platforms.

The New York Times reports that Google said that it would ban websites that peddle fake news from using its online advertising service. Facebook announced that fake news sites would be banned from displaying adverts in sites that show misleading or illegal content.

While these actions do not take aim at government-sponsored disinformation, they target for-profit fake news sites, which some say could have influenced the outcome of the US election.

New Danish fact-checking portal
This week, a new initiative against disinformation also launched in Denmark: The Mandag Morgen media house opened a new fact-checking portal.

When editor in chief Lisbeth Knudsen introduced the project, she pointed out that the traditional journalistic principle of neutrality, balance and listening to several sides of a case had its limits in times of disinformation.