4 ms·

It's too easy to blame Facebook in this case. Fake news has a market because people seek it out. Some may want to believe the fake news to confirm a world view

It's too easy to blame Facebook in this case. Fake news has a market because people seek it out. Some may want to believe the fake news to confirm a world view they hold and others may see it as entertainment. The real problem here is why do people want to believe things that are obviously not true? Maybe some of it is that the world is increasingly more complicated. You can't explain most issues without researching current events and having a firm grasp of history. Perhaps it is comforting for people who do not have the time or the ability to understand complex problems. In my opinion, the easiest thing for Facebook to do to fix the problem is to just bring back the chronological news feed. If a friend of mine shares something Facebook assumes I don't agree with then I should be the one to make that decision, not an algorithm. This will break the "bubbles" by forcing people to talk to each other again.

sdenton4 10y ago
Fake news is a problem because the wrong metrics are being targeted. Fake news vendors are seeking clicks because ctr maps directly to their revenue stream. So they make outrage click bait, get the money, and compete to make the most outrageous stuff. There's a mix of human psychology and general platform failure going on here.
- treebeard901 10y ago
  > Fake news vendors are seeking clicks because ctr maps directly to their revenue stream. This is an absolutely important aspect of the fake news problem. It goes back to when news started to be run for profit, which has always been the case to some degree. In recent decades it appears to have accelerated. The internet during this time started to become commercialized as well. The ad supported internet and for profit news combine to create this scenario. Maybe it is a chicken and egg problem... Does supply drive demand in this case or is it the other way around? I genuinely do not have an answer and suspect it is somewhere in the middle. It is an unfortunate symbiotic relationship we have found ourselves in.

sdenton4 10y ago

Fake news is a problem because the wrong metrics are being targeted. Fake news vendors are seeking clicks because ctr maps directly to their revenue stream. So they make outrage click bait, get the money, and compete to make the most outrageous stuff. There's a mix of human psychology and general platform failure going on here.

treebeard901 10y ago
> Fake news vendors are seeking clicks because ctr maps directly to their revenue stream. This is an absolutely important aspect of the fake news problem. It goes back to when news started to be run for profit, which has always been the case to some degree. In recent decades it appears to have accelerated. The internet during this time started to become commercialized as well. The ad supported internet and for profit news combine to create this scenario. Maybe it is a chicken and egg problem... Does supply drive demand in this case or is it the other way around? I genuinely do not have an answer and suspect it is somewhere in the middle. It is an unfortunate symbiotic relationship we have found ourselves in.