Have you ever actually been a victim of 'fake news'?

Nick 0208 Ldn

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Apples Tim Cook, is calling for government intervention and a public information campaign:

“All of us technology companies need to create some tools that help diminish the volume of fake news.

"We must try to squeeze this without stepping on freedom of speech and of the press, but we must also help the reader. Too many of us are just in the complain category right now and haven’t figured out what to do.”
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The full interview with the Telegraph :: hhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/02/10/fake-news-killing-peoples-minds-says-apple-boss-tim-cook/


I guess i'm wondering if this whole issue is being overblown, and could be open to abuse by governments. Fake, fake news, has been a factor in the recent unrest taking place in Cameroon for instance.
 
I think it needs addressing but is being a little exaggerated and certainly does not worry me as much as mainstream media being controlled by people with an agenda and being highly partisan.
 
It's a very very touchy subject. On the one hand, people are stupid and heavily influenced by confirmation bias and fake news unquestionably has a big effect on them and that's dangerous because opinions are being formed and solidified by misinformation.

On the other hand, whatever name it goes under the tool we are talking about is a censorship one or at least has the potential to be abused and used for censorship. Who gets to decide the scope of a tool like this? Who is going to be in charge of them? If Apple and Google also get the ability to filter what news is being published online it's a whole new level of power for these companies.

How long before the current government starts influencing this and uses it to stay in power? How long before corporations buy access to it? We saw that with some of the Advert filter tools where companies were buying exempt status so their ads wouldn't be blocked.

Hopefully it can be implemented properly at some stage though, in theory it's not too difficult to create an expert system that has the ability to cross reference and critically examine articles and rather than filter them out completely they could annotate quotes and facts and give warnings or ratings about the articles integrity.
 
People are adults. Leave them to assess the validity of their news sources.
 
Im still a little bit confused as to what fake news is.

Is it celebrity news? Is it false news? Is it opinion masquerading as news?

Its a very confusing term.

As far as Tim Cooks opinion on it, it shouldnt even be of any consequence. Is his interview the very definition of 'fake news'? His interview only serves two real purposes, 1. To show Apple is in someway concerned for the public, which is a lie because if they were so concerned theyd pay their taxes, and 2. To sell Apples brand as some sort of morally concious company which is bollox because they manufacture their products in sweatshops.

So F Apple, F Tim Cook and F fake news!

But yea, I read UniLad everyday on Facebook so I am a fake news victim.
 
Does April fools day count? Then yes.
 
I like to google other sources for credibility out of habit since University so I don't fall victim.

Mostly people on my Facebook share fake news all the time, it's amazing how they believe everything on their feed.
 
Can someone give me a list of what has been categorically stated as fake news. Which famous news stories out there have been false?

The transfer window is basically an entire month of fake news...
 
I'm a cynic, i check everything that seems too convenient. Had to correct lots of friends and loose acquaintances with regards to all the Trump memes that were going around, stick any quote on a picture and people will believe it.

As far i can tell its mostly informal mediums that have been the victim of fake news but thats just internet cultural now finding its way into political discussion.

Of course the tories have been practicing fake news on us all for two parliaments now so we should be used to it
 
What even counts as fake news? These obviously satirical sites? What about the ones that are slightly less obvious?

Or are we talking about actual made up news ran by newspapers that are meant to be trustworthy, because that's been going on for years and doesn't even seem to be the issue here?

Or are we talking about lame ass memes with a quote?

A quick look back up the thread and it seems everyone is in the same boat. Is the fake news issue fake news?
 
Was the rebranding from 'propaganda' to 'fake news' part of the whole con job, or is fake news different from propaganda somehow?

Having a government, or anyone for that matter, with the authority to decide what is fake and real news is really troublesome for a society. And the sway that these fake news site seem to have in manipulating public opinion is also a problem.

I've given it a lot of thought over the past year or so and I can't come up with a viable solution. We need a strong press but it seems to be getting weaker as society changes the way in which it consumes content. Quality and integrity is getting brushed aside to make way for sensationalism and clicks, and with it the lines between truth and falsehood are getting more and more blurred.
 
In the developing world fake news spread via social media is guilty of inciting riots and communal violence. It is no laughing matter.
 
The main stream media is dying and they want to label everything fake news. What about the decades of fake news from them? Utter BS. If someone is not intelligent enough to realise that gerbils are not capable of flying then they deserve to be fooled by fake news.
 
EyeInTheSky said:
The main stream media is dying and they want to label everything fake news. What about the decades of fake news from them? Utter BS. If someone is not intelligent enough to realise that gerbils are not capable of flying then they deserve to be fooled by fake news.
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Old Joe and his Ubermensch again, this is exactly how Nazi Germany started.
 
You can stop dropping them on me now, chief.
 
This 'Fake News' doesn't really come from mainstream media, that is just a smear tactic now used by Trump and other politicians.

It comes from random nobodies setting up their own 'news' websites laden with as many ads as possible, publishing bullshit articles they have come up with in 10 minutes with click bait headlines, and spreading the article as far and wide as possible through social media with the sole intention of just getting people to click it. It is a HUGE cash cow.

There are reports of some people earning $60k/month this way during the run up to the election. Trump supporters were the easiest targets apparently, so most article were Clinton bashing.

Of course mainstream media does bend the truth, omits things to suit agendas, click baits to earn their way, but they are a long way from the fake news sites that made this phrase popular.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-person-makes-10000-a-month-writing-fake-news-2016-11-17
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/f...-teen-earns-thousands-publishing-lies-n692451
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ws-writers-make-money/?utm_term=.1f52372cba4b
 
The only time I ever fell for fake news was when I believed that PSG donated €40m to Chapecoense. Don't really know why I believed it and a few hours later I saw it wasn't true, but I said it to one or two people in the meantime.
 
I read an article in 2011 that explained how someone finally decoded the Zodiac Killer's cryptic letters.
I literally found out this morning it was all bullshit.
 
GDaly95 said:
The only time I ever fell for fake news was when I believed that PSG donated €40m to Chapecoense. Don't really know why I believed it and a few hours later I saw it wasn't true, but I said it to one or two people in the meantime.
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To be fair, that's a perfectly reasonable thing to believe. I wouldn't have doubted that had I seen it, but maybe we question good fake news less than bad stuff.
 
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Is it unfair to suggest that the RedCafe transfer forum was where the idea for Fake News oiginally sprung from? I know that anytime I feel tempted to click on a story about flying gerbils, the image of Batistuta and his flowing locks give me pause for thought.
 
Still ill said:
Is it unfair to suggest that the RedCafe transfer forum was where the idea for Fake News oiginally sprung from? I know that anytime I feel tempted to click on a story about flying gerbils, the image of Batistuta and his flowing locks give me pause for thought.
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Youve nailed it! Mark Ogden is the inventor of fake news!
 
It's irritating that the likes of trump administration can just shout fake news to wash away the shit. General public are blatantly being treated like children
 
Still ill said:
Is it unfair to suggest that the RedCafe transfer forum was where the idea for Fake News oiginally sprung from? I know that anytime I feel tempted to click on a story about flying gerbils, the image of Batistuta and his flowing locks give me pause for thought.
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Kaka to united was definitely fake news that went viral after being made up by our very own @Spoony
 
Tarrou said:
Was the rebranding from 'propaganda' to 'fake news' part of the whole con job, or is fake news different from propaganda somehow?

Having a government, or anyone for that matter, with the authority to decide what is fake and real news is really troublesome for a society. And the sway that these fake news site seem to have in manipulating public opinion is also a problem.

I've given it a lot of thought over the past year or so and I can't come up with a viable solution. We need a strong press but it seems to be getting weaker as society changes the way in which it consumes content. Quality and integrity is getting brushed aside to make way for sensationalism and clicks, and with it the lines between truth and falsehood are getting more and more blurred.
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Because the lady in the blue pant suit says so.

But yes your right there is no difference between propaganda and fake news. If anything this seems more about the people who have power(political and economic) trying to extend their influence.
 
If the media actually focused on the purpose of "news" (to provide factual information on relevant current events) rather than largely presenting opinion tenuously pinned to attention grabbing headlines then I might take some umbrage at this fake news epidemic.

As it stands they are as guilty as any of presenting their own agenda and bastardising the content to fit with it. The only real difference being that they have the platform and support that comes with being huge corporations rather than being disparate agitators that rely on luck as much as anything to spread their message.

Fake news is a symptom of the problems with wider news, better to fix the issue at the root than to tinker with the relatively minor offshoots.
 
Stanley Road said:
So give me an example of fake news so I understand it please
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Pizzagate, the story that Hilary Clinton was running a paedophile ring. It was blatantly not true. As in...well, yeah, fake. Additionally, while it was less a newscaster and more a commentator, Conway's recent comments on the 'bowling green massacre' depicted a terrorism event which did not actually happen.
 
sincher said:
I think it needs addressing but is being a little exaggerated and certainly does not worry me as much as mainstream media being controlled by people with an agenda and being highly partisan.
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Yes, exactly. It is very worrying that the mainstream media is owned and controlled by people and organizations that use these media outlets to propagate views that will benefit them behind the scenes. What is even more worrying is that this issue is not being highlighted. The MSM is obviously never talk about this as it is about them. They want to dictate the news cycle and shape people's opinions. They peddle whatever they want people to think.
 
Nikhil said:
Yes, exactly. It is very worrying that the mainstream media is owned and controlled by people and organizations that use these media outlets to propagate views that will benefit them behind the scenes. What is even more worrying is that this issue is not being highlighted. The MSM is obviously never talk about this as it is about them. They want to dictate the news cycle and shape people's opinions. They peddle whatever they want people to think.
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It's worth considering that Steve Bannon, not Turner or Murdoch, is the most trusted advisor to the world's most powerful man. And I'd hardly consider Breitbart a part of the MSM.
 
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