How Big Is The Fake News Problem?

How Big Is The Fake News Problem?

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BlackLabel

Original Poster:

13,251 posts

122 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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Seems like the Germans are taking it very seriously.

German officials have proposed creating a special government unit to combat fake news in the run-up to next year's general election, reports say. A document quoted by the Spiegel news website calls for an "anti-disinformation centre" in Chancellor Angela Merkel's administration.

Germany reacts to misleading 'Breitbart' New Year's Eve report. The right-wing publication has falsely reported that Arab men set fire to Germany's oldest church while shouting "God is great." Dortmund police described the evening as "rather average to quiet."



Germany has threatened to crack down on the fake news scandal plaguing Facebook by levying hefty fines for posts that aren't removed immediately amid mounting fears that disinformation could influence the country's upcoming elections. The head of Germany's second-biggest political party has suggested Facebook could face fines of up to €500,000 (£419,000) for each post containing fake news or hate speech that isn't removed from the network within 24 hours.

It always amazes me how many otherwise-intelligent people share such health/medical crap on Facebook.

The widespread circulation of fake health news on social networks is misleading and potentially dangerous, health officials have warned. Misinformation published by conspiracy sites about serious health conditions is often shared more widely than evidence-based reports from reputable news organisations, according to analysis by The Independent. Of the 20 most-shared articles on Facebook in 2016 with the word “cancer” in the headline, more than half purport claims discredited by doctors and health authorities or – in the case of the year’s top story – directly by the source cited in the article.

Wilmslowboy

4,188 posts

205 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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Could cost the bbc, sky, express and fox news a lot ...

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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And who decides what is real news? Whoever pays the most?

The Global Warming scam has "settled science" and is a "fact" reported by "proper" news.. Yet I believe it not.

SKP555

1,114 posts

125 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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Big enough that the people who have been doing it for decades aren't getting their way anymore.

xjay1337

15,966 posts

117 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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Denzel Washington had a good point in a video recently.
Its not about the truth, its about being first.

I think FB spreads so much crap around.....it would be healthy for it to be removed.

Sylvaforever

2,212 posts

97 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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Define "Fake" news.

Or more simply, define State Censorship of "inconvenient truths" [just to keep up with the MMGW, Carbon trading etc trend from above]



Edited by Sylvaforever on Sunday 8th January 20:03

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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I read about that NYE Breitbart article the other day. I lean to the right but I've seen some articles on that site and they are way too nutty for me.

Very odd for them to completely make st up though, surely it detracts from their credibility.

Gandahar

9,600 posts

127 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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Well the Main Stream Media, or MSM, in the USA have been pretty beaten up in the last 12 to 18 months, but at least they have some sort of editorial control. The websites attacking them such as Breibart have their own issues, as this shows, but they are not on the back foot at the moment and raking in the $$ after criticising long term news establishments.

They have less checks and balances on what they can put up on a whim. So they have more chance of getting it wrong. Sometimes badly.

Problem is with these new newsfeeds is that people who read them just want bias confirmation. Does this agree with my world view? Yes it does. This is completely right. Any other source is wrong.

That's a very bad way to get your information. New should be neutral and give you enough information to give you new insights and perhaps challenge what you thought was right.




Derek Smith

45,512 posts

247 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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I subscribe to Private Eye. I would have been happy for them to be fined, and more that £500, for their MMR scare-mongering.


Gandahar

9,600 posts

127 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
quotequote all
Jasandjules said:
And who decides what is real news? Whoever pays the most?

The Global Warming scam has "settled science" and is a "fact" reported by "proper" news.. Yet I believe it not.
You can believe it is not a fact, but equally you cannot actually show it is a scam.

So them promoting it as a fact is as equally bad as you claiming it to be a scam.

wink


hyperblue

2,800 posts

179 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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hornetrider said:
I read about that NYE Breitbart article the other day. I lean to the right but I've seen some articles on that site and they are way too nutty for me.

Very odd for them to completely make st up though, surely it detracts from their credibility.
I doubt Breitbart is going for credibility. Their aim is to get their articles posted on Facebook, re-tweeted and shared as much as possible in order to drive visits and ad views. It's taking the Daily Mail clickbait model, lurching further to the right and running with it. Many people don't care if the article is true if it fits their world view.

rallycross

12,742 posts

236 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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BBC itv sky etc most of what they put out could be classed fake, false but very clearly government driven.

glazbagun

14,257 posts

196 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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I think the problem is that fake news, especially when spread via social media politically engages people who have no previous political interest and a social reason to accept what they are reading with minimal scrutiny.

When I read something in the Daily Mail/Guardian/Times/BBCwhatever I know from experience the kind of bent it is likely to have and where to go to find an opposing bias so as to have a stab at forming an opinion. If I read about a local US issue posted on facebook by one of my American friends who I get on with, then I'm more likely to take his word as to its accuracy.

I think an increasing problem is that it's easier to throw mud than to clean it up, and easier to throw mud than ever before! So we have all sorts of nonsense like Gamergate, Pizzagate, etc which will always appeal to certain mindsets, but be too unreliable to make it into the MSM. Plenty relaible enough for a subreddit or youtube video, though. And with clicks being the main source of income on the internet, the more outlandish and heated the better.

chrispmartha

15,354 posts

128 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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rallycross said:
BBC itv sky etc most of what they put out could be classed fake, false but very clearly government driven.
Any evidence of that?

You wont get many on NP&E having a go at Bretbart, it's the first port of call for news for some ;-)


glazbagun

14,257 posts

196 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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rallycross said:
BBC itv sky etc most of what they put out could be classed fake, false but very clearly government driven.
Then it should be easy to pick a fake news story from the front page of either.

Quick look on the BBC:

  • Teresa May says "xyz" (with video)
  • Iranian Ex-PM dies.
  • Four people have been killed in Jerusalem by a Palestinian man who drove a lorry into a group of soldiers, in what police called a terror attack.
  • Boris Johnson in New York for talks with Donald Trump's team
  • Tube strike: 24-hour London Underground walkout begins.
  • Giant wire spool rolls down Pennsylvania motorway.
Hmmmm...

OK, let's try SKY:
  • "No 'humanitarian crisis' in the NHS" -Says May
  • London Tube warning as 24-hour strike begins.
  • Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has claimed it is "unfair" to ask him what his party's position is on immigration controls.
  • Queen at church for first time since illness
Dear god, you can't believe anything you read these days. Shocking!

danllama

5,728 posts

141 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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Something makes me very uncomfortable about Germany in particular, threatening to fine people for showing 'fake' news. Fascism alive and well? Pure coincidence that there's an election coming up, of course.

Derek Smith

45,512 posts

247 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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danllama said:
Something makes me very uncomfortable about Germany in particular, threatening to fine people for showing 'fake' news. Fascism alive and well? Pure coincidence that there's an election coming up, of course.
Not quite as bad as the UK government suggesting that they might fine newspapers even if they print the truth.


Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
quotequote all
Gandahar said:
You can believe it is not a fact, but equally you cannot actually show it is a scam.

So them promoting it as a fact is as equally bad as you claiming it to be a scam.

wink
http://www.dailywire.com/news/9767/9-things-you-need-know-about-climate-change-hoax-aaron-bandler

Derek Smith

45,512 posts

247 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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Jasandjules said:
That's the sort of thing, purporting to be news, or at least scientific comment, which is exactly what the fake news problem is. But then, no one would be silly enough to believe any report which quoted Fox News as a source.

rxe

6,700 posts

102 months

Sunday 8th January 2017
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