There are two problems with fake news. - One is fake news outlets. Astro turfing the internet. It became a lot easier to set up new sites. And there is a big f

There are two problems with fake news. - One is fake news outlets. Astro turfing the internet. It became a lot easier to set up new sites. And there is a big funding machine behind it (yes, Google, looking at you). The key challenge is that fake news is so much more clickable. It is constructed to be alarming. It stands out in our mostly balanced reality. The currency on the internet is attention. It got self sustaining - people were making money of it. - One is social news. Viral forwarding. Facebook may think they are not a publisher but they build a big publishing machine ready to be taken over by the biggest bully in town. Building nukes and leaving them laying around is not responsible (yes, FB, Twitter, looking at you). There is now power with zero accountability. A feast for any bully. Systems with almost infinite amplification are bound to blow up. We need feedback mechanisms that effectively push back. Drop fake news from search. Inform recipients that got fake news that it was fake. Decrease ability to forward fake news. Decrease ability to spread fake news by persistent multipliers. Promote properly vetted but more boring/slower stories. Trump did not only get more attention in the MSM he also was able to use the digital airwaves in a way that drowned out any more balanced messages. His team and fans were able to use a huge lever.