Facebook is tweaking the News Feed to crack down on 'alternative facts'

Facebook is switching up its algorithm in its ongoing battle to rid the social network of fake news.

The company announced a change Tuesday that would boost posts "that people consider genuine and not misleading, sensational or spammy" above others in its users' News Feeds.

To do this, Facebook is adding more markers to each post that will signal to its algorithms whether or not a post's information is authentic. Part of that is determined by the source page — the company will take into account whether it regularly posts spam or if it tries to game feed placement by asking for "likes" or comments.

The other determining factor is a model that Facebook says it has trained to recognize common signs associated with authenticity. The company doesn't go into much detail about what these characteristics might be.

Facebook's algorithm will then weigh those markers along with others it already uses to sort posts, like how interested a user seems to be in the posting friend or page and overall number of likes and comments.

The move comes as Facebook has faced intense scrutiny for its role in spreading misinformation, hoaxes and propaganda in the wake of last year's presidential election.

Despite initially denying the problem altogether, the company has since rolled out a set of tests designed to find effective ways of combatting the spread of misinformation.