Facebook is to offer training for journalists using the social network as part of its effort to stem criticism it is not doing enough to tackle "fake news".

The Facebook Journalism Program aims to "establish stronger ties between Facebook and the news industry", the social platform said.

As part of the programme, news organisations will work more closely with engineering teams at Facebook, while the social network will offer online courses.

The site's co-founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke out in defence of Facebook in the wake of the US election after it was suggested that fake news stories in support of President-elect Donald Trump that appeared on the site could have influenced some voters.

In announcing the journalism collaboration, Facebook's Fidji Simo said: "We know that our community values sharing and discussing ideas and news, and as a part of our service, we care a great deal about making sure that a healthy news ecosystem and journalism can thrive.

"As part of the Facebook Journalism Project we'll begin an even deeper collaboration with news organisations across the spectrum, connecting our product and engineering teams so that we can build together from the early stages of the product development process.

"In addition to the newsroom training we currently offer, we're now conducting a series of e-learning courses on Facebook products, tools and services for journalists.

"We will be expanding these trainings to nine additional languages, and partnering with Poynter (International Fact Checking Code of Principles) to launch a certificate curriculum for journalists in the months ahead."

Referring to the fake news scandal, Mr Zuckerberg in the past has said that "more than 99%" of the content on Facebook was authentic, but admitted the site should look to do more to combat "hoaxes". Facebook has since introduced new tools for reporting such content.

"Our goal is to show people the content they will find most meaningful, and people want accurate news," he said, before also warning that Facebook must be careful how far it goes in defining what constitutes fake news.