Facebook Inc. is coming under renewed fire for how it handled the spread of fake news and misinformation on its social network, including using aggressive tactics to discredit critics.

In the wake of a scathing newspaper report on the company's approach to managing a deepening crisis, Facebook said Thursday that it ended its work with a Republican public affairs firm that had drawn links between enemies of the company and billionaire financier George Soros.

The move to cut ties with Definers Public Affairs came after the New York Times detailed Definers' work amid widespread turmoil at the social media giant as it dealt with the discovery of Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election and data privacy breaches.