How to Force Facebook to Fix Its Fake News Problem

Now that U.S. politicians know that Facebook is unable to stop malicious actors from using it to influence public opinion, the social network is doing its best to avoid tougher regulatory treatment. It shouldn't be able to get off so easily, though: It must admit it's really a media company and accept legal liability for the material it publishes.

As part of Facebook's preemptive campaign, which has already seen Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg promise more transparency and more human control on the advertising side of the business, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg gave a mea culpa interview to Axios last week. "It's not just that we apologize," she said. "We're angry, we're upset. But what we really owe the American people is determination."