Facebook’s trending topics algorithm puts hoax story about 9/11 at top

Social media giant Facebooks news trending algorithm put a hoax story about 9/11 at top of its list, linking to an article by The Daily Star which claimed that controlled explosions destroyed the World Trade Centre Towers in 2001, a media report said.

Facebook currently has more than a billion monthly active users, and its Trending Topics is prominent section for views, whether stories are true or not. (AFP)

Social media giant Facebooks news trending algorithm put a hoax story about 9/11 at top of its list, linking to an article by The Daily Star which claimed that controlled explosions destroyed the World Trade Centre Towers in 2001, a media report said.

"We're aware a hoax article showed up there and as a temporary step to resolving this we've removed the topic," tech website CNET quoted a Facebook spokesman as saying on Friday.

Facebook currently has more than a billion monthly active users, and its Trending Topics is prominent section for views, whether stories are true or not.

The articles on the Trending Topics section are placed through an algorithm based on relevancy and time posted.

It replaces the links after an undetermined amount of time, without any human supervision or quality control, the report added.