How to Block Fake News & Clickbait on Mac

The internet is flooded with misinformation, conspiracy theories, and low-quality clickbait farms. If you want to clean up your news feed and protect yourself (or family members) from disinformation, you can block these domains system-wide.

Here are the best ways to sanitize your Mac's internet connection.

Option 1: The Hard Way (Terminal)
Free

You can use the StevenBlack "Fake News" blocklist, which is community-maintained and regularly updated.

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Download the list from GitHub, copy the content, and paste it into your hosts file.

Pros
  • ✓
    Completely free
  • ✓
    Community curated
Cons
  • ✗
    Hard to keep updated
  • ✗
    Fake news sites pop up daily
  • ✗
    Can be slow to edit manually
Option 2: Browser Extensions
Free

Extensions like "NewsGuard" or "TrustedNews" flag sites in your browser but usually don't block them entirely.

Pros
  • ✓
    Visual warnings
  • ✓
    Easy to install
Cons
  • ✗
    Only works in one browser
  • ✗
    Doesn't stop the site from loading
  • ✗
    Can track your browsing history
Option 3: The Sane Way
$5 One-Time

SaneHosts makes it easy to subscribe to the "StevenBlack Fake News" list. It downloads updates automatically so you're always protected from the latest misinformation sites.

Why it wins
  • ✓
    One-Click Import: Built-in "Fake News" category
  • ✓
    System-Wide: Works in Safari, Chrome, and Apple News
  • ✓
    Auto-Updates: Stays current without manual work
  • ✓
    Private: No browser tracking
Get SaneHosts — $5

Compatible with macOS 14 (Sonoma) and later.