Fake news

[Squirrel]

We did some discussing of this in the Election thread, and I have read several different posts (on FB) from friends about 'not legitimizing' these fake news sites by not liking/sharing and being aware. (Yes, I'm guilty of that as I'm sure many are but got [hopefully] a bit more savvy towards the end.) But this NPR 'investigative' report and interview was a 'just wow' for me, so decided to start a new thread with it.

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/11/23/503146770/npr-finds-the-head-of-a-covert-fake-news-operation-in-the-suburbs

[DaveW]

Simple solution to all of this is don't be friends with, or interact with people to stupid to fall for fake news sites. If they are relatives or something, just ignore them/un follow them and go about your life.

[Squirrel]

 

Simple solution to all of this is don't be friends with, or interact with people to stupid to fall for fake news sites. If they are relatives or something, just ignore them/un follow them and go about your life.

Oh geez, Dave ... kind of missing the point of the article, which I'm sure you didn't read.

[TheLeviathan]

Oh geez, Dave ... kind of missing the point of the article, which I'm sure you didn't read.

Fire dave's posting ability.

[DaveW]

Oh geez, Dave ... kind of missing the point of the article, which I'm sure you didn't read.

I read it, and other articles as well about it. If there is money to be made people will continue to do it, capitalism etc

 

The best way to combat it is to block/unfollow the people that post that garbage. That way it won't appear in you or your friends feed. By commenting on it, or telling someone it's fake, only gets more publicity on it.

[Squirrel]

 

I read it, and other articles as well about it. If there is money to be made people will continue to do it, capitalism etc

The best way to combat it is to block/unfollow the people that post that garbage. That way it won't appear in you or your friends feed. By commenting on it, or telling someone it's fake, only gets more publicity on it.

This isn't about 'inconveniencing' my news feed.

[Squirrel]

 

 

Fire dave's posting ability.

I can do that ... very easily ... click, click and it's done. But I won't just because he's inconveniencing my thread. You know ... it's better the devil you know than the devil you don't. Plus Brock would just have to go in and undo it all and I really don't want to put more on Brock unnecessarily as I do that enough already.

[DaveW]

I can do that ... very easily ... click, click and it's done. But I won't just because he's inconveniencing my thread. You know ... it's better the devil you know than the devil you don't. Plus Brock would just have to go in and undo it all and I really don't want to put more on Brock unnecessarily as I do that enough already.

 

I was just trying to make a point about the fake news stuff. Ignore it and the people who post it and it will go away eventually. Just like MySpace.

[TheLeviathan]

I don't think ignoring it makes it go away.  That didn't work with Trump.

[Squirrel]

 

I was just trying to make a point about the fake news stuff. Ignore it and the people who post it and it will go away eventually. Just like MySpace.

I know you were but I don't think it's quite that simple. Maybe you and I, in our own little FB bubbles can do that, and for the most part I have on FB by hiding sources not people, but it is more widespread than that. We'd have to teach the whole of society to not do that, and right now, everyone is so concerned with hating the other side and winning, critical thinking and evaluation is out the window because we have become so habitual in our click baiting anything that 'agrees with our side' on every level. For me it's a huge ethics issue ... and not the ethics of those creating this stuff and those supporting it through advertising ... but my ethics, yours, and all of society. I see this stuff from people who are truly decent people, from both sides of the aisle and I don't think 'turning them off' so to speak changes anything.

[DaveW]

I think it falls on FB to simply refuse to promote those BS news sites, google has already went ahead and refused to sell any advertising to them.

 

However there is always gonna be a loud fringe group who believe everything they hear/read.

[DaveW]

I don't think ignoring it makes it go away. That didn't work with Trump.

Nobody ignored trump! He was literally the lead story on nearly every network and every publisher for 9+ months!

[TheLeviathan]

 

Nobody ignored trump! He was literally the lead story on nearly every network and every publisher for 9+ months!

 

People didn't take him seriously.  It was months into the campaign before that happened.  

 

You ignoring people on facebook does absolutely nothing to their habits. They'll still patronize those sites and believe the content.  That's the problem.

[Squirrel]

 

I think it falls on FB to simply refuse to promote those BS news sites, google has already went ahead and refused to sell any advertising to them.

However there is always gonna be a loud fringe group who believe everything they hear/read.

Right. Google has refused this, but if you read the article, this guy said it was easy to fill their slot. If more would do as Google did, it would be better. But the bottom line are those who click in and why. We want to believe the worst in our opponents and spread the word in order to win. At least in terms of this election where this stuff really escalated. It requires more effort than simply 'ignoring' it on FB. And, the beginnings of this in terms of this person's involvement in fake news is interesting ... his initial target were those most susceptible to 'conspiracy theories,' particularly those on the far right fringes.

[Craig Arko]

Along with the outright fake stuff it's also worth it to check the dates on original posts. The algorithms FB uses are particularly bad and so things will appear in the feed that are maybe two or three weeks old, people re-share them, and boom; looks like news.

 

Meanwhile a lot may have changed. Fortunately the wisdom of Carl Sagan never goes out of date.

[kab21]

Ultimately it has to be the people that censor fake news and not FB, Twitter or the Twins Daily admin team. I am concerned with Mark Zuckerberg (or Comcast or the FCC or etc...) deciding  what is fake or not.

 

I am quite frustrated by how many people will believe any meme or website without actually fact checking anything though. I don't know what the answer is because MANY people truly believe that Hillary called Michelle Obama a (insert naughty word) in an email to Chelsea. When asked about the source the answer is 'I read wikileaks'. Obviously you didn't because that doesn't exist in wikileaks but they are 100% certain that it does but can't provide a source.

[biggentleben]

I found it interesting to read the NY Times article on the guy who tweeted the fake story about protesters being bused in for anti-Trump protests, and that it was an assumption on his part that got shared by one of his 40 followers to the right site that blew it up, and it was treated like real news because there were pictures of buses. Nevermind that the bus company that is prominently featured on the pictures told the NY Times that they were the second reporter who had actually contacted their corporate offices, in spite of contact information for media being easily accessible right on their website and their bus name being easily notable in the pictures.

 

The photos were of buses in town for a convention, which the guy would have found out with one call before tweeting, but his excuse was that "he doesn't have time to fact check all that stuff before I post it"...

[DaveW]

Yeah I don't fault the proprietors of the fake news sites in the least. People have been making money off the rubes and idiots since the dawn of mankind. At least they aren't robbing them pyramid scheme style etc

[kab21]

 

Yeah I don't fault the proprietors of the fake news sites in the least. People have been making money off the rubes and idiots since the dawn of mankind. At least they aren't robbing them pyramid scheme style etc

This goes off on a bit of a tangent but if there is money to be made then when will these fake news sites start being sued for libel. I don't think it is realistic since these sites operate in the shadows but it is a possibility.

I am all for naming and shaming the owners though.

[DaveW]

This goes off on a bit of a tangent but if there is money to be made then when will these fake news sites start being sued for libel. I don't think it is realistic since these sites operate in the shadows but it is a possibility.

 

I am all for naming and shaming the owners though.

National Enquirer etc have proven that suing for libel is a lot easier said then done.

 

One of the downsides of the 1st amendment etc,but it sort of is what it is.

 

Also I'm still not convinced that "fake news" was even a top 3 or 4 reasons why Trump won/Hillary lost.

 

Concern?

 

Absolutely.

 

But I think it's easier to blame it as a boogeyman for us liberals then it is to take a look at the party and movement as a whole and figure out how we lost the lower middle class vote.

[nicksaviking]

I haven't been on Facebook in years. I don't know my password and the email address I used to set it up (which is where a new password would be sent) was long ago deleted due to inactivity. I couldn't log on if I wanted to.

 

Living life with only Twins Daily as my 'social media' outlet is great; I recommend it to anyone who has an inking to set themselves free of online commitments!

[kab21]

 

I haven't been on Facebook in years. I don't know my password and the email address I used to set it up (which is where a new password would be sent) was long ago deleted due to inactivity. I couldn't log on if I wanted to.

Living life with only Twins Daily as my 'social media' outlet is great; I recommend it to anyone who has an inking to set themselves free of online commitments!

This sounds great in theory but I have been able to see so many wedding, children and other daily moments of friends that I have lost contact with over the years because of FB. I wouldn't trade that for the downsides. I even enjoy seeing Dave's shenanighans but that might just be the masochist in me.

 

but I understand wanting to stay away from the online world. I piss away so much time online. I sort of have an online business though and it requires work online of course.

[DaveW]

This sounds great in theory but I have been able to see so many wedding, children and other daily moments of friends that I have lost contact with over the years because of FB. I wouldn't trade that for the downsides. I even enjoy seeing Dave's shenanighans but that might just be the masochist in me.

 

but I understand wanting to stay away from the online world. I piss away so much time online. I sort of have an online business though and it requires work online of course.

What shenigans are those Kirk?

 

I assume you mean my amazing bits re: Minnesota sports and/or chick Fil A?

Or is it airline crash talk (which is something I spent a ton of time reading up on for some bizarre reason)

 

Again FB is awesome if you currate it correctly.

 

Few rules:

 

-no extended family following or "work" colleagues

 

-no friends 10 years older or 10 years younger (this is a new one and Brock, OFX, Chi were all grandfathered in more or less!)

 

-anyone you would never be willing to grab a beer with? Insta unfriend.

[kab21]

That is an odd rule about age. My only rule close to that is no students. I just don't care what Taiwanese teenagers are up to and I don't want 100's of them on FB.

 

I am trying to think if I have friends I wouldn't be willing to grab a beer with. Not any I can think of but I have fellow bloggers/travelers that I haven't met but know of. Some of these have turned into great online friends while others I still don't know at all.

The best rule (if possible) would be to ignore all politics and controversial stuff. The unbelievable stupidity of this thread topic has not allowed me to do that for the last 6 months though. And it hasn't been pleasant. Of course the whole election sucked for daily life even abroad.

[Craig Arko]

My rule is to choose friends who think independently and force me to do the same. Most of them have been doing so for decades.

[Squirrel]

 

What shenigans are those Kirk?

I assume you mean my amazing bits re: Minnesota sports and/or chick Fil A?
Or is it airline crash talk (which is something I spent a ton of time reading up on for some bizarre reason)

Again FB is awesome if you currate it correctly.

Few rules:

-no extended family following or "work" colleagues

-no friends 10 years older or 10 years younger (this is a new one and Brock, OFX, Chi were all grandfathered in more or less!)

-anyone you would never be willing to grab a beer with? Insta unfriend.

Yeah ... you still owe me a couple beers ... I'm waiting ...

[TheLeviathan]

 

National Enquirer etc have proven that suing for libel is a lot easier said then done.

One of the downsides of the 1st amendment etc,but it sort of is what it is.

Also I'm still not convinced that "fake news" was even a top 3 or 4 reasons why Trump won/Hillary lost.

Concern?

Absolutely.

But I think it's easier to blame it as a boogeyman for us liberals then it is to take a look at the party and movement as a whole and figure out how we lost the lower middle class vote.

 

While I agree with you Dave, there is a risk of allowing rampant, non-factual propaganda to be widely spread.  It's a constant source of division.

 

It's one thing for PT Barnum to screw someone out of their nickel for a show, it's another thing to sway political opinions (or entrench them) with bull*$&^ dressed up as the real deal.

 

On the other side, facebook is highly valuable for me as someone that has lived in Chicago, Minnesota, Arizona, etc. and have friends everywhere.  But the hell if I'll indulge twitter with more than two minutes of my time.  That cesspool alone is justification for our species to be annihilated from the planet.  

[Squirrel]

 

That is an odd rule about age. My only rule close to that is no students. I just don't care what Taiwanese teenagers are up to and I don't want 100's of them on FB.

 

I am trying to think if I have friends I wouldn't be willing to grab a beer with. Not any I can think of but I have fellow bloggers/travelers that I haven't met but know of. Some of these have turned into great online friends while others I still don't know at all.

The best rule (if possible) would be to ignore all politics and controversial stuff. The unbelievable stupidity of this thread topic has not allowed me to do that for the last 6 months though. And it hasn't been pleasant. Of course the whole election sucked for daily life even abroad.

If I see one of these stories liked or shared by friends, I hide the source. I hide more from one side than the other, I will admit, but hiding the sources has really been useful. Whether it's a friend of a friend or a group/page, it limits the 'new' stories to the pages I actually follow like 538, NPR and BBC. I don't need to see stories shared from places like 'The Patriot Conservative.' They are gone and hidden. 

 

Part of the problem with the proliferation of these stories is that people don't actually read them. And maybe that wouldn't even matter if they did, dunno. But either way, people just aren't thinking anymore.

 

I also wish FB would bring back the option of not seeing the things that your friends like and have commented on. We used to be able to turn off those things from appearing in our news feeds. That would also go a long way in helping to stem proliferation of these things.

[Craig Arko]

This is the society we live in. You can either learn from it or hide from it. The only posts I block are the ones trying to sell me crap.

 

Even here, eventually I read posts from people on ignore, if nothing else as a reminder of why.

[PseudoSABR]

 

 My only rule close to that is no students.

At least current students and potential students.  Having taught at the undergrad level, I used to be very strict about this rule even as it related to former students, but eventually it seemed silly and unnecessary to create a barrier for people I'd no longer have a conflict of interest with, and who could (and would) be pretty relateable friends.  (Probably different from you experience teaching teenagers in Taiwan, but I know I missed out on a few friendships by adhering too strictly to my rule.)