Fake news stories actually do better than real ones on Facebook, study finds

Fake news has become big news in the past few weeks – after bogus stories from hoax websites became a huge phenomenon in the American election.

So much so, that the top stories from ‘fake’ sites actually outperformed real news outlets, according to analysis by Buzzfeed News.

Researchers found that the 20 top-performing ‘fake’ stories from hoax sites and political blogs generated 8.7 million interactions such as shares in the three months up to the election.

But the 20 top-performing stories from ‘real’ outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post only generated 7.4 million interactions.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has rejected the idea that ‘fake’ news in any way influenced the American election, saying at a technology trends conference, ‘The idea that fake news on Facebook, which is a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way I think is a pretty crazy idea.’