I do like the uptopian vision these companies have, erradicate fake news, make people like each other again by removing incendary "facts" that have just been made up. But "fake news" - or to call it by it's proper name, propaganda - is an effective tool for Governments, companies etc to promote their own line and position.
In the UK we have The S*n and The Daily Fail, as well as The Daily Express and The Torygraph. These papers are seated firmly to the right of everything. During the Brexit campaign you couldn't move for the falsehoods these papers were promoting. When Brexit wasnt' around, you would have a set menu of Muslims supporting terrorism, the EU supporting themselves and raping the UK of what it owns, and at a domestic level, how Corbyn was a clown and he shouldn't be listened to. Even when, at the same time, the Tory government were found out to have given Surrey council a sweetheart deal in light of upcomming cuts to local services. While not fake news, you could also recall the Milly Dowler case where journalists from The Mirror were hacking in to her phone and deleting voicemail messages, making her parents think she was still alive.
Consider who owns these media organisations. The BBC is a state owned media outlet, and when it fails to report on domestic issues that affect the country because it makes the current Government look bad, you wonder why these news items aren't being reported. There was an almost pornographic obsession with the failed Labour coup while thousands of disabled people found that their benefits were being cut. Consider also that Paul Dacre (editor of The Daily Fail) went for a nice meal with Frau May immediately when she became PM - being the first and only journalist to do so - and how that rag of a paper reports on events in this country and in Europe. Consider, finally, how much influence Murdoch has over the media (both printed, visual and audio), and the opinions he's expressed over various events and how his media outlets seem to mirror those opinions.
Take in to account that the press in the UK have often said a free press must be preserved and regulation should be avoided. But when you think about the shite they've done and reported, we're still being told that a WordPress website on the internet that said the Pope backed Trump is a problem for democracy and that removing these sites would improve the publics trust in journalism?
Are you fucking high mate?