Snapchat goes tough on fake news; issues guidelines to publishers

In its bid to reduce fake news and click bait, the photo and video sharing app Snapchat which is growing up as a place for news has updated its guidelines for publishers, media reports said.

Clickbait describes web content that aims to exploit the curiosity gap, providing just enough information to make the reader curious, but not enough to satisfy their curiosity without clicking through to the linked content.

"The changes are for Snapchat's Discover feature and the new content guidelines will prohibit sensitive content, including profanity, overly sexualised content, and violent content from cover images and require warnings before other shock content," tech website Mashable reported.

Earlier this year, Snapchat rolled out changes in its app that made it easier to navigate the app with a universal search bar that's always accessible at the top of the app.

The search bar lets you dig out of Snapchat the best content and conversations.

Currently, Snapchat has nearly 150 million daily active users.

Last year, Facebook tweaked its News Feed algorithm to crack down on clickbait and to direct user attention towards higher quality content.