Facebook has promised to fight fake news but carries paid-for hoax adverts with headlines such as “The Queen Has Died”

Facebook was accused of hypocrisy after it was found to be promoting sham advertisements despite promises to tackle fake news.

An investigation found paid-for hoaxes about high-profile public figures next to users’ news feeds, duping them to click to alleged scam websites. The revelations come days after a Times investigation exposed terrorist and child pornography content on the social network.

In the latest incidents, users have reported hoaxes concerning Lord Sugar, Stephen Hawking and the Queen, that take them to websites mimicking news sites such as The Sun.

One hoax advert encouraged people to click on a link with the headline: “The Queen Has Died”.

Robert Harvey shared a picture of the hoax in a tweet, saying: “Yesterday #Facebook were on the @BBCNews talking