A top Channel 4 executive has warned that fake news could affect the next UK election, and urged the UK government to step in if Facebook and other internet firms do not do more to tackle the problem. Dan Brooke, the broadcaster’s chief marketing and communications officer, and board member, said the worry was that web firms would “Fiddle with fake news while democracy burns“.

Barack Obama has said false information on the web could affect American politics, and some have suggested fake news stories, such as claims that an FBI employee investigating Hilary Clinton’s emails killed himself, had an impact on the US election. Brooke said if the companies did not do more they should be made subject to regulation by the government, which has said it is looking into fake news.

Full Story: The Guardian

Guardian Bias: Left-Center