Lyons did not say what criteria Facebook or AFP would use to evaluate photos and videos, or how much a photo could be edited or doctored before it is ruled fake.

The project is part of "efforts to fight false news around elections," she said.

A representative for AFP could not immediately be reached for comment.

Facebook has tried other ways to stem the spread of fake news. It has used third-party fact-checkers to identify them, and then given such stories less prominence in the Facebook News Feed when people share links to them.

In January, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook would prioritise "trustworthy" news by using member surveys to identify high-quality outlets.

Alex Stamos, Facebook's chief security officer, said in the briefing that the company was concerned not only about false facts but also other kinds of fakery.

He said Facebook wanted to reduce "fake audiences," which he described as using "tricks" to artificially expand the perception of support for a particular message, as well as "false narratives," such as headlines and language that "exploit disagreements."

Reuters