German Chancellor Angela Merkel has declared a clamp down on 'fake news' on social media in her first address to parliament since announcing she will be seeking re-election next year.
It comes following reports that fake news stories circulating social media in the run up to the US Presidential Election may have affected voting, as a high number of right-wing stories seemingly spreading false information about Hillary Clinton were shared on Facebook.
Merkel blamed the likes of 'bots', 'trolls', 'fake sites' and 'algorithms' for the spread of news that is either false or containing only a small element of truth, and warned that it is 'manipulating' public opinion.
'Opinions aren't formed the same way as they were 20 years ago', Merkel said in her statement on Wednesday.
'Something has changed - as globalisation has marched on, (political) debate is taking place in a completely new media environment.'
Barack Obama echoed the German Chancellor's thoughts last week and raised concerns about the effect fake news has on voters: 'In an age where there’s so much active misinformation and it’s packaged very well and it looks the same when you see it on a Facebook page or you turn on your television,' he said alongside Merkel in Berlin.
'If everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made, then we won’t know what to protect.'
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.