Jan 8 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- Meta META.O said on Tuesday that it was ending its longstanding fact-checking program, a policy instituted to curtail the spread of misinformation across its social media apps, in a stark sign of how the company was repositioning itself for the Trump presidency.

- The Washington Post has started laying off roughly 4% of its work force, the company said on Tuesday, as the newspaper struggles to stem millions of dollars in annual losses.

- Theodore Farnsworth, the former chief executive of the parent company of MoviePass, pleaded guilty to securities fraud on Tuesday after federal prosecutors said he had misled investors about the company's "unlimited" subscription plan.

- Exxon Mobil XOM.N sued California's attorney general, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups on Monday, alleging that they conspired to defame the oil giant and kneecap its business prospects amid a debate over whether plastics can be recycled effectively.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

((globalnewsmonitoring@thomsonreuters.com))