3 ms·

> in the era of false news How did we get here? Many folks have surfed the web for 20 years, even more for 15, most for 10 --- now in 2016, surprise surprise,

by dualogy 10y ago

> in the era of false news How did we get here? Many folks have surfed the web for 20 years, even more for 15, most for 10 --- now in 2016, surprise surprise, fake news abound! /s Almost as if coinciding with the calls for (or introductions of) related legislation..

grzm 10y ago
The number of people online, the level of engagement, and the money being made in online advertising, is unprecedented. I don't know what impact it had on the election, but it was definitely something that has attracted more attention due to the campaigns. It's not unusual for a problem that has existed for a relatively long-time to suddenly come to the attention of the legislature when it rises in prominence.
Nadya 10y ago
Just a narrative being peddled [0]. The mainstream media lost their grip on "the people" so now need to brand anything that isn't themselves as "fake news". Google Trends shows how blatantly obvious the narrative crafting is. It's only suddenly an issue because the MSM needs it to be. So within a very short amount of time you see MSM like the NYT or WaPo posting articles about 'Fake News' and getting everyone to start talking about it. [0] http://i.imgur.com/lWjnRqt.png http://i.imgur.com/lWjnRqt.png
- dualogy 10y ago
  Sure. Exactly. I just added a /s to my post.. ;)
- pcwalton 10y ago
  Fake news started spiking in Google Trends around the election because that is when fake news became profitable. We are talking about blatant spam sites in which the owners openly admitted to making up stories out of whole cloth.
pcwalton 10y ago
Fake news became profitable right around the time when a major candidate ran on a platform that peddled conspiracy theories. What a surprise!
- grzm 10y ago
  Fakenews/webspam has been profitable for years. I've seen articles with titles like "Martin Sheen dead!" for a lot longer than the 2016 US Presidential campaign (which, granted, seemed like it lasted forever)

by dualogy 10y ago

grzm 10y ago

The number of people online, the level of engagement, and the money being made in online advertising, is unprecedented. I don't know what impact it had on the election, but it was definitely something that has attracted more attention due to the campaigns. It's not unusual for a problem that has existed for a relatively long-time to suddenly come to the attention of the legislature when it rises in prominence.

Nadya 10y ago

Just a narrative being peddled [0]. The mainstream media lost their grip on "the people" so now need to brand anything that isn't themselves as "fake news". Google Trends shows how blatantly obvious the narrative crafting is. It's only suddenly an issue because the MSM needs it to be. So within a very short amount of time you see MSM like the NYT or WaPo posting articles about 'Fake News' and getting everyone to start talking about it. [0] http://i.imgur.com/lWjnRqt.png http://i.imgur.com/lWjnRqt.png

dualogy 10y ago
Sure. Exactly. I just added a /s to my post.. ;)
pcwalton 10y ago
Fake news started spiking in Google Trends around the election because that is when fake news became profitable. We are talking about blatant spam sites in which the owners openly admitted to making up stories out of whole cloth.

pcwalton 10y ago

Fake news became profitable right around the time when a major candidate ran on a platform that peddled conspiracy theories. What a surprise!

grzm 10y ago
Fakenews/webspam has been profitable for years. I've seen articles with titles like "Martin Sheen dead!" for a lot longer than the 2016 US Presidential campaign (which, granted, seemed like it lasted forever)