Two of Facebook’s biggest fact-checking partners have stopped working with the social media giant in a blow to its attempts to combat fake news. Associated Press and Snopes said that they were no longer checking articles or news stories that appeared on Facebook. Neither said why. Snopes, an independent company that has been investigating fake stories circulating on the internet for more than 25 years, said that it had “elected not to renew” the partnership. It added that it wanted to determine “with certainty” that its work was a “net positive for our online community, publication, and staff”. David Mikkelson, founder of Snopes, and Vinny Green, its head of operations, said in a statement: “Forgoing an economic opportunity is not a decision that we or
Associated Press and Snopes will no longer be working as fact-checking partners for Facebook. The decision to end the partnership comes after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post on Wednesday that fake news was “really hurting democracy” around the world. Independent firm Snopes said it ended its partnership with Facebook as it wanted to guarantee its work was ultimately beneficial to its "online community, publication and staff". It did not completely rule out working with it again. AP confirmed it was not working with the social media site but would continue offering fact-checking services.