MANILA — (UPDATED) Facebook has blocked some websites that contain Filipino content but allegedly share false information.

The social-media company said it considers the websites as spam according to its community guidelines.

The websites are banned from being shared on Facebook's news feed and messenger. Pages are also prohibited to share links to the blocked websites.

According to Facebook, it's "anti-spam system is designed to catch and remove bad content and affiliated accounts before they ever reach people on Facebook."

"When we catch spammy activity, we work to counter and prevent it from being shared on our services, including blocking accounts, removing content and stopping spammy links from being shared. These links were blocked in March 2018 for violating our spam policies and are unrelated to the fact-checking product, which was recently rolled out in the Philippines," Facebook's spokesperson said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Facebook partnered with local news outlets Rappler and Vera Files for a third-party fact-checking program in the Philippines.

Facebook, in a blog posted on April 4, said almost 1.2 million Filipinos were among 87 million users whose data were improperly shared with British data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica.

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