Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg dismissed – as "a pretty crazy idea" – charges fake news accounts on the social media site were responsible for sinking Hillary Clinton's presidential bid.
Speaking Thursday evening at the Techonomy conference at Half Moon Bay, Calif., Zuckerberg said it's not so easy to fool people, Business Insider reported.
"Personally, I think the idea that fake news on Facebook – it's a very small amount of the content – influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea," Zuckerberg said.
Instead, he said, people underestimated support for president-elect Donald Trump.
"I do think there is a certain profound lack of empathy in asserting that the only reason someone could have voted the way they did is they saw some fake news," Zuckerberg said, USA Today reported.
"If you believe that, then I don't think you have internalized the message the Trump supporters are trying to send in this election."
In Zuckerberg's view, people know the difference between truth and a lie, and asserted "we do our best" to remove hoaxes quickly.
"I think people are smart, and that people understand what is important to them," he said, per Business Insider.
Earlier in the day, Facebook responded to the spread of fake articles during the election, saying it takes the problem "very seriously" and pledged it would root out misinformation in people's News Feed and in trending topics, USA Today reported.
"We value authentic communication, and hear consistently from those who use Facebook that they prefer not to see misinformation," Adam Mosseri, Facebook's vice president of product management, said in a statement. "We understand there's so much more we need to do."
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