Business

Facebook changes to Trending Topics questioned after blunder

Posted August 31, 2016 7:00 am

The Associated Press

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) - Facebook's changes to its "Trending Topics" section are being questioned after it featured a false report about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.

The story posted Saturday falsely claimed Kelly had been fired by Fox because she secretly supported Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Another topic trending was #McChicken, which took users to stories about a video of a man using the McDonald's sandwich in a sex act.

Facebook announced Friday that an algorithm would select trending topics in place of humans but that human editors would still screen them.

Menlo Park, California-based Facebook has apologized for the Kelly story, telling CBS News its editors mistakenly thought it was legitimate before realizing the error. Facebook hasn't responded to an inquiry on the McChicken topic.

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