Facebook staff mount secret push to tackle fake news, reports say

Employees allegedly formed a task force to tackle the problem, while others say executives are reviewing products to eliminate appearance of political bias

Facebook is facing increasing pressure to improve the way it deals with fake news in the wake of the shock 2016 US presidential election result, amid reports that even some of its own staff have formed an unofficial task force to address the problem.

Employees from across the company have secretly come together to try and tackle the problem, BuzzFeed reported on Monday, despite Facebook publicly playing down the role of fake news in the election. CEO Mark Zuckerberg insisted on Sunday that more than 99% of what people see on the platform is authentic, rejecting the "crazy idea" that fake news swayed voters.