Mediagazer: Fake stories flagged by two or more unpaid third-parties like Snopes and AP will get warning labels, lower ranking on News Feed, but will remain shareable (Josh Constine/TechCrunch)

8:35 PM ET, December 15, 2016

Top News:

To fight fake news, Facebook tests easier hoax reporting, uses third-party fact checkers to flag stories, punishes posts that are read but not shared, more — For weeks, Facebook has faced questions about its role in spreading fake news. The intense scrutiny has caused internal divisions …

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Fake stories flagged by two or more unpaid third-parties like Snopes and AP will get warning labels, lower ranking on News Feed, but will remain shareable — Snopes, FactCheck.org, Politifact, ABC News, and AP will help Facebook make good on four of the six promises Mark Zuckerberg …

Discussion: Poynter, Mark Zuckerberg, Forbes, Media Matters for America, Washington Post, Mediaite, The Daily Signal, Rolling Stone, @mccarthyryanj, Adweek, @recode, Mashable, The Wrap, @prisonplanet, @notjessewalker, @joshconstine and @prisonplanet

Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:

Pew report: 64% of American adults believe fake news is sowing confusion about basic facts, while 23% of Americans say they've shared a made-up story — All that fake news has taken its toll. — Nearly two-thirds of American adults (64%) believe that fabricated news stories have caused …

Discussion: Pew Research Center, Washington Post, Nieman Lab, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, FishbowlDC, Broadcasting & Cable, Mashable, First Draft News, FishbowlNY, @pewresearch, The Verge, @pewresearch, The Next Web, @pewjournalism, Media Matters for America and TVNewser

Lauren Easton / The Definitive Source:

The Associated Press will label stories dispelling false news as “AP Fact Check”, touts its code for accuracy and ethics amid Facebook partnership — As part of its broader fact-checking efforts, The Associated Press announced Thursday that it will work with Facebook to help identify …

Discussion: Recode, Business Insider, Nieman Lab, New York Times, @evansiegfried, @heminator, @laureneastonap, @kfoleyfl, @rkylesmith, @tomfitton, @fpmarconi, @mmfa and Forbes

Angie Drobnic Holan / PolitiFact:

PolitiFact says 2016 saw fake news explode with unprecedented impunity, spread mostly by Facebook and reinforced by Google searches — Ignoring the facts has long been a staple of political speech. Every day, politicians overstate some statistic, distort their opponents' positions, or simply tell out-and-out whoppers.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Columbia Journalism Review, Slate, Vox, Vanity Fair, The New Civil Rights Movement, Fortune and The Wrap

Oliver Darcy / Business Insider:

Prominent conservatives express alarm at Facebook's move against fake news, worrying their voices will be suppressed and fact checking won't be applied evenly — Conservatives reacted with alarm to Facebook's announcement that it will partner with fact-checkers to combat so-called fake news …

Discussion: @urbanophile, The Gateway Pundit and @hadas_gold

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:

Trump attacks Vanity Fair and its editor Graydon Carter on Twitter, after the magazine published a negative review of Trump Grill, a steakhouse in Trump Tower — on Thursday blasted Vanity Fair, claiming the magazine was in “big trouble.” — “Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers …

Bloomberg News:

Source: Verizon is looking to get a price cut or exit the $4.8B Yahoo deal after company discloses 1B accounts hacked in 2013; Yahoo stock down 5% — Verizon Communications Inc. is exploring a price cut or possible exit from its $4.83 billion pending acquisition of Yahoo! Inc. …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Yahoo, @technology, Business Wire, The Hill, CNBC, Techdirt, The Drum, Vanity Fair, @ddayen, Variety, @tsgiles, @mollywood, CNNMoney, The Verge, Marketing Land, The Wrap, Forbes, @fusionfan45, BGR, The Guardian, Mashable, FOX2now.com, @johnhendel, @ajs, @alexjamesfitz, @technology, @bdsams, Business Insider and BGR

Jackie Kucinich / The Daily Beast:

Sources: Monica Crowley, conservative radio host and Fox News analyst, is expected to join the Trump administration as a deputy national security advisor — Monica Crowley, a conservative radio host and Fox News analyst, is expected to be tapped by the Trump administration …

Discussion: Mediaite, New York Times, TVNewser, Mother Jones, TheBlaze, @lrozen, @mmfa, @thedailybeast, @dylanbyers, Politico, @noahshachtman, @noahshachtman, @noahshachtman, @woodruffbets, @dmartosko and @jfkucinich

Politico:

Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says he will resign on January 20, which will allow a new Republican majority to begin dismantling Obama-era regulations — Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said today he would resign, ending months of will-he or won't-he speculation about his plans.

Discussion: Variety, Ad Age, The Wrap, @tomwheelerfcc, @heminator, @jeff_foust, The Hill, The Verge and CNBC

April Glaser / Recode:
The departure of FCC chairman Tom Wheeler likely signals the end of net neutrality, as Donald Trump has publicly opposed the rules

Discussion: FishbowlDC, Radio & Television …, TechCrunch, Bloomberg and @dangillmor

New York Times:

The New York Times launches a confidential tips page with secure communication channels for sources, including SecureDrop, Signal, and WhatsApp — A strong news tip will have several components. Documentation or evidence is essential. Speculating or having a hunch does not rise to the level of a tip.

Discussion: @runasand, @digiphile, @lheron, @ennisnyt, @scottshanenyt, @ndhapple, @trevortimm, @nytimes, @a_greenberg, @erinmcnll, @gabrieldance, @jodikantor, @graybeltran, @markmazzettinyt, @jeremybowers, @hamman, @dvsch, @pressfreedom and @adamgoldmannyt, Thanks:@ahmed

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:

NBCUniversal will launch the Olympic Channel in second half of 2017, to be carried by AT&T and DirecTV; more carriage deals expected — Yemane Haileselassie of Eritrea competes in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase final in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Aug. 17. (Cameron Spencer / Getty Images)

Discussion: NBC Sports Pressbox, Broadcasting & Cable, Wall Street Journal, Variety, Fortune, MediaPost, NPR, Awful Announcing and Mediaite

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

Under pressure from the ACLU in California, Twitter cuts off surveillance firm Dataminr's access to its firehose, limiting its use — Fusion centers now get a limited version of the Dataminr tool — Police across the country will now have a harder time singling out individual Twitter users.

Discussion: ACLU of Northern California, Mashable, The Guardian, The Daily Dot and TechCrunch

NorthJersey.com:

NJ newspapers could lose $20M a year if bill passes allowing local governments to forego publishing legal notices in print and instead post them online — A fast-tracked bill that would allow governments to forgo publishing budgets, bids for services and other public records in newspapers …

Colin Campbell / Raleigh News & Observer:

NC Policy Watch reporter Joe Killian arrested for trespassing after refusing to leave gallery being cleared of protesters amid legislature's debate — A reporter for the group N.C. Policy Watch was arrested Wednesday when police closed the House chamber's public gallery during a debate.