Facebook tries to cut down on hoaxes

Facebook has a new fix for fibs.

The Menlo Park, California-based social media company said it has updated its service to reduce the number of hoaxes that appear in users' news feeds. These posts - which include scams or deliberately false or misleading news stories - can annoy users.

Facebook will look at how often users report an item as false - a new feature - and how often users delete the item.

Facebook won't remove the items. But it will reduce how often offending posts show up in news feeds. Posts will also appear with a message saying that many others on Facebook have reported it as false.

Facebook says humorous and satirical content should not be affected.