always check your sources

[orangerful]

This NPR article is terrifying on so many levels

We Tracked Down a Fake News Creator in the Suburbs. Here's What We Learned.

The whole "fake news" debate has really pulled me in. At first, I was concerned that people were just calling anything partisan "fake news" but then I read this and these people are writing out of malice. This guy is a liberal, a registered Democrat, and he think it is "fun" to feed people misinformation and propaganda.

Oh, and he may or may not be making at least $30,000 a MONTH on it.

Reading this, I realized it is not the fake news sites that we need to be targeting. We need to target their source of revenue. We need to find out what companies advertise on fake news sites and boycott them. Shame them away from supporting these sites that are just lies.

When it comes down to it though, it is all in the hands of the consumer. We tell people to lock their house before leaving to discourage theft. We tell people to install anti-virus programs on their computer. We research our electronics purchases and check all the reviews before buying a TV. It is our responsibility to check our news sources before we share them or take them as truth.

But how can we do that when the fake news creators are actively trying to make this difficult? Buying URLs that sound like small town newspapers because they want to fool readers? Or, as the creator points out, when people "want" to read the lies, they want to believe the lies, so why would they bother to check? The fake news article about people using food stamps to buy pot in Colorado - people want to believe the worst about the poor so do they bother to find out if this is true?

But I don't think Facebook should try to block sites only because I know people will start trying to block legitimate sites they don't agree with. Like when Facebook went to the real name only policy and all of the transgender people and drag queens were virtually attacked for not using their "given" names. Plenty of news sites twist the facts, mold them to fit their agenda - is that real news or fake news?

Deep thoughts for a Sunday morning, I know. But this whole thing has been bothering me. I don't think it swayed the election, I think most people had made their decisions long before polling day. But it might sway the next one.

Thoughts? More articles? Tell me!

Comments

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I think people need to use common sense. I'm always wary of articles that are clearly slanted, even if I know the source to be reliable, tbh. I mean, look at what happened in the "hot coffee" case people STILL cite as being a perfect example of ludicrous lawsuits - when in fact, it's an exemplification of ludicrous journalism. Everyone poses the story as a ditzy valley girl who got a red mark on her hand for five minutes and had to use cold water when she got home, not a grandma with third degree burns on her legs. So even though reliable sources reported that, before the days of social media no less, it was easily distorted. (There have been more current instances as well. In fact, I now wonder how many "stupid lawsuits" would be totally valid if you looked at all of the details.)

Also, people need to stop being afraid to look at more than one source and to question things. I don't know when that became a "bad" thing, but I think consideration is far more productive than putting on a sheep mask and taking everything as truth. No matter where you are politically.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Yes, so very true! I think the problem is that people are not taught to go beyond that first source. I've helped ADULTS at the library who thought "Google" was their resource. And for many who were raised on newspapers, the idea of going to a second source might not even occur to them because how did you go to a second source then? I dunno, it is annoying.

And then you do have the "journalists" who will inflate the importance of a story because they are paid by views/clicks. Or because it makes good TV. I listened to a podcast by Malcolm Gladwell called "Revisionist History" and he looked at the "scandal" around the Toyota where they claimed they had faulty brakes. 60 Minutes did a special on it and he found out they tampered with the vehicle they used for the special so they could make it do what they wanted it to do. After research, it was discovered the cars crashing was actually human error.

That is probably part of it too. We are an impatient people. We don't want to wait for the results, the research, the facts - we just want someone to tell us we are right so we can move on.

[thenewbuzwuzz.livejournal.com]

Well, that's deeply disturbing. Teaching people critical thinking is so important!

[chasingdemons.livejournal.com]

It has been disclosed (on legitimate news channels) that Russia was flooding us with fake news during the election. I find that very upsetting.

[sagittariusbun.livejournal.com]

I am really pissed off that Toupee (le Donald) got in. Just another acquisition for him.

[witchchild]

We also lead by example. It may not be much but it is something. Right after the election Neil Degrasse Tyson was on the Late Show and said we need to make America smart again. The way things look right now, that includes doing every last thing we can to boost education on our own since the current nominee to head that department has zero business being anywhere near it.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I was just reading about the new "education" person and I am, again, on the OH GOD OH GOD WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE side of my Trump panic. I always get twitchy when I hear about people trying to privatize things. Just another way to segregate legally.

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

Oh jeez - these people definitely need a reality check and common sense.

[night-owl-9.livejournal.com]

Common sense, common sense, common sense. I can't say it enough.

[meathiel]

I've just read an article about fake news in an acknowledged German magazine - I have to say I found it very scary!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I guess as long as it is made VERY CLEAR that it is FAKE, it would be okay. People are so ignorant/naive when it comes to online news though and most of these sites strive to look real. It is scary!

[apinkpanthress.livejournal.com]

...Oh, and he may or may not be making at least $30,000 a MONTH on it...

Well, that's the America those Oligarchs in the USA want... people making money with BS & the poor are being f*cked over... :(

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I think it's terrible that people are choosing to take advantage of the gullible for monetary gain.

[twissie.livejournal.com]

Didn't South Park point this out like two years ago? I'm amazed it's become such a huge thing. It's fascinating that people discovered they could make money off of it, that part I understand. What I don't really understand is how it can affect world politics or other news in general.... maybe I've just not been exposed to it as much.
Checking sources was just about the only thing my weird history teacher in upper secondary school taught me (he taught it well!), so I tend to forget that this is something a lot of people don't think about.

As for ads, I honestly don't know much about how online advertising works, but from what I've seen in Google Ads support documentation it's more you agree to have ads on your site, and you rarely have any say in what sort of ads. Unless you have specific sponsors, the ads are determined through targeting and depends on the viewer, not the site or the advertiser.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

The Toronto Star did an article on a pair of fake news creators just after the election - they were definitely in it for the cash. That said, they also admitted that it would be very easy for social media companies to shut them down with simple algorithms that test links to confirm that the source exists and the same keywords exist in both. But the advertisers make money off the links in fake news, and social media companies are reliant on their advertisers, so social media companies refuse to add the link testing algorithm. It becomes a chicken and an egg problem - and the sort of problem that doesn't get solved until it becomes more costly (in lawsuits) to allow the fake articles than it does to lose the advertising dollars.

[blakmagjick]

Some people want to read this fake news, cause it goes along with the hate and shit that they already believe, and then they think it's okay.
It's scary.
I hate people.

[feliciacraft.livejournal.com]

I believe both Google and Facebook have said they will ban fake news sites from using their online ad services, through which money is made. There are of course others (Twitter, etc.), but those two popular ad syatems are a good starting place for restrictions. I'm on my cell, but you can search for "google ban fake news" for details.