The 'fake news' discussion thread

Discussion in 'Politics & Current Events' started by Boloni86, Jan 19, 2017.

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  1. JamieBmore

    JamieBmore Member

    Apr 26, 2001
    I didn't have an issue with Obama calling out Fox News. If he can pinpoint a lie that Fox News said about him, I have zero issues with him calling that out. The MSM is allowed to be criticized if they lie or report stories with zero evidence and claim them as facts.
     
  2. JamieBmore

    JamieBmore Member

    Apr 26, 2001
    In fairness, Fox News was the only one going after Obama. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, the NYT and Washington Post are all attacking Trump on a daily basis. Wikileaks exposed a lot of them....they are aligned with the Dems, its not hard to see. That's the problem. They are under the guise of "fair and balanced" reporting when it is anything but that. At least when Democrats bash Trump like when Maxine Waters called the Trump team "a bunch of scumbags" the other day, at least you know where they are coming from.

    You think the news outlets I listed don't have a liberal bias? You think they are fair when they report about Trump? I could link you video after video of unfair biased reporting if you really need me to...
     
  3. raza_rebel

    raza_rebel Member+

    Dec 11, 2000
    Club:
    Univ de Chile
    This brings me to a few interesting questions:

    What is the definition of fake news? Im not talking about opinion articles/pundits that purport themselves as news...a few people come to mind. Is it a news piece that is grounded in truth that oppose a viewpoint (for instance the unemployment rate in the 30s or 40th percentile) or is it an out an out lie (swift boat stories against John Kerry or PizzaGate). Any what is the responsibility of a journalist to cover it?

    The reason I ask is because I have seen more and more news come from dubious sources that really link to nothing else except another dubious source. For example, the Swedish/terrorist connection, Birmingham/ no go zones, or unemployment rates in the US hovering at a ridiculous rate.. These stories existed nowhere else except on Brietbart or a far right site, but it gets picked up by other right-leaning sites and now become a "Fact". Yes it may be but if you get to the progenitor of the truth you might as well be chasing Keyser Soyse.

    I am interested in
    • how these stories get passed as fact?
    • What is the responsibility to follow the BS or debunk it?
    • If presented with enough evidence why do people not change their minds? This last one interests me the most
     
  4. Boloni86

    Boloni86 Member+

    Jun 7, 2000
    Baltimore
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Gibraltar
    No, I definitely agree that some of those news sources lean progressive. Some more than others. For example, MSNBC for me is unwatchable because it's too one sided (although they pretty much admit that they are).

    But that doesn't mean that they're the enemy of the American people. I strongly dislike Fox, Rush Limbaugh and other right wing sources. But I'd never call the enemies of America. It's a free country. Journalism is a market just like anything else. They'll say whatever gets them viewers/listeners.

    If you dislike a story, debunk it using your words and ideas. Don't go all Putin and attack the institution of free press.
     
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  5. soccernutter

    soccernutter Moderator
    Staff Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    Aug 22, 2001
    Near the mountains.
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Check this out: http://www.thenewsliteracyproject.org/

    They are looking it a lot from the educator's perspective and how to teach students why is fake, what is biased, and what is legit.
     
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  6. NORML

    NORML Member+

    Aug 9, 2002
    Lake Wobegon, MN
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    that reminds me of the documentary on the internet called, Lo and Behold. One of the people interviewed made the point that thanks to the internet, children have more access to information than ever before and the most important thing that has to be taught to themn is how to critically analyze that information to parse out what is true and false.
     
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  7. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire

    There is a big reason why that move by Trumputin is pure bullshit, if not unAmerican.

    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.​


    It's pretty much the foundation of our political life.
     
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  8. ceezmad

    ceezmad Member+

    Mar 4, 2010
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Red Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well to be fair, there has been no law made just yet.

    Trump also has the freedom to spill his bullshit, it is up to the people to hold him accountable, but the misinformation is a way for him to get his base to believe his Alternate facts and not the medias facts.
     
  9. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Trump is the government. He has obligations.
     
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  10. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I think "Fake News" is best used to describe something made up or exaggerated and then published in a format that looks legitimate (i.e., like a place that vets the writing, confirms sources, etc), but in reality is just designed to get hits.

    Legitimate outlets will occassionally get things wrong, but they will issue retractions and clarifications. So there should be a distinction between fake news and faulty reporting.
     
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  11. janos audron

    janos audron Member+

    Apr 12, 2010
    As for Flynn narrative. It seems liberal whisteblowers are on a strike. I was expecting to have full transcript of Flynn`s conversation with Mother Russia on my desk alongside morning coffee.

    Bummer.
     
  12. janos audron

    janos audron Member+

    Apr 12, 2010
    #162 janos audron, Feb 23, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2017
    Damn, people are getting funky with their adjectives / words... "Far right" media.. Its on pair with Trump`s Dossier in which he pissed on a bed of Obama`s and had orgy with 1$ prostitutes.

    Is Fake News only limited to "Far" right Media?
     
  13. Cascarino's Pizzeria

    Apr 29, 2001
    New Jersey, USA
    No, just that 99% happens to come from right field. People will draw their own conclusions.
     
  14. janos audron

    janos audron Member+

    Apr 12, 2010
    CNN`s dossier in regards to Fake News says its 99,9%.
     
  15. Q*bert Jones III

    Q*bert Jones III The People's Poet

    Feb 12, 2005
    Woodstock, NY
    Club:
    DC United
    I think you have to take it a step further. They attempt to drown the real news with the false news so that nobody has any trust in *any* news. Then the ruling class has no check whatsoever on their power.

    You might want to check out Benjamin Walker's Theory Of Everything podcast.
     
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  16. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes. They tried it on both sides, but only the right wingers are dumb enough to make it pay by catapulting the propaganda. Bernie fans did a little bit of it, but targeting wingnuts really paid off.
     
  17. JamieBmore

    JamieBmore Member

    Apr 26, 2001
    Trump and Putin are best friends!!! Trump hates black people and Jews!! Trump hates immigrants!!
     
  18. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    http://www.npr.org/sections/alltech...f-a-covert-fake-news-operation-in-the-suburbs


    A lot of fake and misleading news stories were shared across social media during the election. One that got a lot of traffic had this headline: "FBI Agent Suspected In Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide." The story is completely false, but it was shared on Facebook over half a million times.

    We wondered who was behind that story and why it was written. It appeared on a site that had the look and feel of a local newspaper. Denverguardian.com even had the local weather. But it had only one news story — the fake one.

    ...

    Coler says his writers have tried to write fake news for liberals — but they just never take the bait.

    Coler's company, Disinfomedia, owns many faux news sites — he won't say how many. But he says his is one of the biggest fake-news businesses out there, which makes him a sort of godfather of the industry.​


    And later on, they interview the fake news purveyor:


    When did you notice that fake news does best with Trump supporters?

    Well, this isn't just a Trump-supporter problem. This is a right-wing issue. Sarah Palin's famous blasting of the lamestream media is kind of record and testament to the rise of these kinds of people. The post-fact era is what I would refer to it as. This isn't something that started with Trump. This is something that's been in the works for a while. His whole campaign was this thing of discrediting mainstream media sources, which is one of those dog whistles to his supporters. When we were coming up with headlines it's always kind of about the red meat. Trump really got into the red meat. He knew who his base was. He knew how to feed them a constant diet of this red meat.

    We've tried to do similar things to liberals. It just has never worked, it never takes off. You'll get debunked within the first two comments and then the whole thing just kind of fizzles out.​

     
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  19. JamieBmore

    JamieBmore Member

    Apr 26, 2001
    Yeah you're right. That whole Fake News that Trump and Putin are buddies totally fizzled out. No one ran with that or anything. Good call.
     
  20. chaski

    chaski Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 20, 2000
    redacted
    Club:
    Lisburn Distillery FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Turks and Caicos Islands
    Where would anyone get that idea?

     
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  21. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    snicker
     
  22. JamieBmore

    JamieBmore Member

    Apr 26, 2001
    LOL That's it. Trump and Putin are bros after all! I stand corrected.
     
  23. chaski

    chaski Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 20, 2000
    redacted
    Club:
    Lisburn Distillery FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Turks and Caicos Islands
    So @realDonaldTrump is fake news
    Good to know
     
  24. JamieBmore

    JamieBmore Member

    Apr 26, 2001
  25. NORML

    NORML Member+

    Aug 9, 2002
    Lake Wobegon, MN
    Club:
    NSC Minnesota Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Really the only thing that started with Palin was the greater amplification of false stories and attacks on mainstream media thanks to the social media. Having family members who subscribe to right wing conspiracy theories I remember uncles talking about Vince Foster and black UN trains waiting to unload soldiers to take over the US during Bill Clintons time.
     
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