Facebook is having trouble keeping its fact-checking partners

Snopes, one of Facebook's high-profile fact-checking partners, and the Associated Press are not renewing its contract with the social network -- dealing a blow to a program Facebook executives have said is a key line of defense in their fight against disinformation. It was no longer practical for Snopes to participate in the partnership, said Snopes Vice President of Operations Vinny Green, because having such a high-profile deal with one company prevented Snopes from doing fact-checking work around the rest of the Internet. He said Facebook needed to create better digital tools for fact-checking posts -- and that the largely manual process was too labor-intensive. There were also unanticipated public relations costs associated with the partnership, he said. Facebook has tried to have its cake and eat it too by touting the fact it's investing in efforts to crackdown on disinformation while leaving the tough calls up to third-parties. But that strategy won't work if it can't keep its partners happy