WPP CEO Says Facebook, Google Must Take Responsibility for Fake News

   By Simon Zekaria 
 

LONDON--Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP PLC (WPPGY), Monday said Facebook Inc. (FB) and Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOGL) Google Inc. must take responsibility for fake news appearing on their platforms, as the British advertising agency added its voice to criticism of the U.S. giants over the issue.

Speaking at a business conference in London, Mr. Sorrell said Facebook and Google should be classified as "media companies," rather than technology companies, which means they are "responsible for the content that flows through the pipes" of their platforms.

"They are now understanding that they are now responsible. You can't just wash your hands of it," he said.

WPP spends billions of dollars of its client's resources on advertising deals with Google and Facebook.

Last week, Mark Zuckerberg outlined several steps Facebook is testing to fight misinformation, an acknowledgment that the social network could be doing more to avoid its proliferation.

Previously, Mr. Zuckerberg defended Facebook against claims that fake news on the site distorted public discourse about the U.S. presidential election.

He has also played down the prevalence of fake news on the site--accounting for less than 1% of global content--and said that Facebook's role isn't to be "arbiters of truth."

Mr. Zuckerberg has reiterated that misinformation is a small part of Facebook content, but that it takes this problem seriously.

Google has also announced steps to prevent fake-news websites from generating revenue through their ad-selling services, signs that technology companies are moving to address a growing controversy about misinformation on the internet.

Write to Simon Zekaria at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 21, 2016 14:08 ET (19:08 GMT)

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