Did a news story about President Obama banning the Pledge of Allegiance ever pop up on your Facebook news feed? Or, how about one where a woman defecated on her boss’s desk after winning the lottery? As you may have guessed, both of these stories are very, very fake. Fake news stories on social media has recently become a large problem, especially for Facebook users.

Two out of three US adults say that fake news causes them confusion. Most fake news is shared on social media. Considering two out of three US Americans get their news from social media, this is a concerning issue.

Why and How Fake News Spreads

Fake news stories on social media, particularly Facebook, have skyrocketed in the past couple of years. They’ve collectively garnered 25.1 million shares, reactions, and comments online. The main driver behind fake news? The 2016 election. Hundreds of shocking articles appeared on both Hillary and Trump. And, what do people do when they see a scandalous article about a major public figure? They click on it. They share it. Perhaps they comment on it. Therefore, they spread it.

Why would someone want to create fake news, let alone spread it? One answer is profit. By selling pay-per-click ad space on a fake news website, the more engagement an article gets, the more money the fake news creator receives. Furthermore, many fake news sites are made to mimic real news websites; this can make it difficult for a reader to tell whether or not a story is fabricated.

What’s Facebook Doing to Help?

However, Facebook has taken action against fake news generators. They’ve started using “third party fact checking organizations.” If you try to post something that has been deemed a hoax, a warning notification will pop up saying that the story has been disputed. The News Integrity Initiative was also created to “help people make informed judgements about the news they read and share online.” It’s received $14 million in funding from Facebook, Craigslist, and other organizations.

Aside from simply misleading people, spreading fake news stories on social media can even incite violence. Think “Pizzagate,” the false rumor that Hillary Clinton and John Podesta ran a child-sex trafficking ring from a local pizza joint. A man was so angered that he stormed into the restaurant and fired a weapon (luckily no one was harmed).

So, next time you’re scrolling through Facebook, pay careful attention to the stories you read; they may not be true. Think before you hit the share or like button. Hopefully, the new measures that Facebook has implemented will help to curb the false news frenzy.