A FREE and fearless press is society's best single defence against 'fake news' - with the Stourbridge News committed to delivering trusted content.

And today this newspaper backs a call to make sure quality, reliable, agenda-setting journalism can survive and thrive online.

The News Media Association (NMA), which represents the Stourbridge News and local titles across Britain, is urging MPs to take the rise of fake news stories on the internet seriously.

In a submission to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee NMA chairman Ashley Highfield said: "News media publishers are by far the biggest investors in original news content, accounting for 58 per cent of the total UK investment.

"But the digital supply chain rewards the distributors of content, not the originators.”

One issue for advertisers and local news companies is that adverts are inadvertently appearing on fake news sites.

The term 'fake news' has been seized on by politicians and anti-press lobby groups in the UK and abroad, with an agenda to silence the press and shut down debate on important issues.

The share of advertising publishers like the Stourbridge News receive from Facebook and Google traffic does not come close to covering the investment we make in creating news content.

The NMA wants the committee to call witnesses from Google, Facebook, major advertisers and agencies to understand developments in digital advertising and its link to the rise of fake news.

It also wants Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority to examine the impact of Google, Facebook and other social media platforms on traditional media.