Fake news has "real world consequences" that must be addressed in order to protect the nation's democracy, Clinton told US lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington where she was attending a ceremony for outgoing Democratic Senate minority leader Harry Reid.

"It's now clear that so-called fake news can have real world consequences," Clinton said. "This isn't about politics, or partisanship. Lives are at risk."

Clinton went on to blast "the epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year." The "danger" must be addressed quickly, she added.

"It's imperative that leaders from the private sector and the public sector step up to protect our democracy and innocent lives."

When fake news becomes real news

A man wielding a rifle entered a pizza restaurant in Washington last week saying he wanted to investigate a fake news story that mistakenly stated the Comet Ping Pong restaurant was a center for child abduction linked to Clinton and her top advisor, John Podesta.

No one was injured when 28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch fired off a round from his AR-15.

Letting go

"This is not exactly the speech to the Capitol I hoped to be giving after the election," Clinton said to an audience that gave her a standing ovation as she took the stage.

"But after a few weeks of taking selfies in the woods, I thought it would be a good idea to come out."

Afterward Clinton ignored reporters' questions about whether fake news stories had cost her the election.

Trump won the Electoral College vote, 306-232. Clinton leads in the popular vote, 65,432,202 to Trump's 62,793,872.

jbh/bw (AFP, AP)