Rio de Janeiro: - A Brazilian judge has given Facebook 24 hours to remove fake news posts about a Rio de Janeiro city councillor who was slain earlier this month.

Judge Jorge Novelle ordered the removal of "false information with criminal content on councillor Marielle Franco, whose memory cannot be disrespected."

Cesar Bianconi, Facebook's spokesman in Brazil, said the company would comply with the judge's order.

After gunmen killed Franco, fake news reports started appearing on Facebook saying she "fell pregnant at 16", "smoked marijuana", "supported criminals" and was only elected because of connections to drug traffickers operating in the slums of Rio.

Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, were shot to death in their car as they returned from an event focused on empowering black women. The killing touched off days of demonstrations by people angered by Franco's death.