Facebook lost its only fact-checking partner in the Netherlands on Wednesday after Dutch newspaper NU.nl decided to drop the company over an ads dispute involving politicians running ads through the platform.
According to The Verge, NU.nl editor-in-chief Gert-Jaap Hoekman questioned Facebook's policy for allowing politicians to run ads that could contain wrong information. "What is the point of fighting fake news if you are not allowed to tackle politicians?" he pointed out.
Hoekman went on to reiterate that NU.nl will continue "stand behind the content of our fact checks." His statements came months after the two sides started feuding in May over the social platform's intervention in one of the fact-checkers ad label decisions.
NU.nl labeled a claim by an ad from Dutch politician Esther de Lange as false. The ad in question is claimed that 10 non-Europeans owned 10 percent of some farmland in Romania. NU.nl said the claims could not be verified at that time.
Facebook then came into the picture and told its fact-checking partner to refrain from fact-checking the statements delivered by politicians. However, the platform's official ad guidelines states that misinformation will not be permitted in ads.
The guidelines then formally exempted politicians from the ad misinformation policy, as was confirmed by Facebook VP of communications, Nick Clegg.
Shortly after NU.nl announced its decision to sever ties with Facebook, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the platform does "regret" to see its partner go but it also respects the decision.
Meanwhile, it was revealed on Tuesday that the company was "Party A" in the bidding that took place for potential acquirers of health wearables provider Fitbit, CNBC reported. At the time of bidding, Facebook bid anonymously.
The revelation has ignited talks about a new rivalry between Facebook and Google as the two tech giants both entered bidding for Fitbit. The search engine giant, in particular, publicly expressed its desire to acquire the wearables company.
Details from Facebook's SEC filing revealed that Fitbit CEO James Park met with Mark Zuckerberg earlier in June to discuss the market on wearables and the technology behind the said products.
Another meeting was held between Fitbit senior managers and Zuckerberg in July and September, the filing revealed. According to the final, Facebook attempted to acquire the company several times but it appears that the wearables manufacturer does not want to settle with $7.30 per share.
Earlier this month, Google announced that it will purchase Fitbit for about $2.1 billion. Should the deal push through, the search engine platform will compete against the likes of Samsung and Apple in terms of products.
