4 ms·

How Facebook and Google AMP Help Camouflage Fake News

8 points by kevinburke 10y ago

gnicholas 10y ago
> Facebook is mulling a Collections feature that would highlight only curated publishers, according to Business Insider, de-emphasizing viral clickbait. Funny, I consider Business Insider to be one of the most prolific purveyors of clickbait. When I read news on SFGate.com, I always hover over a headline to see if the link contains "businessinsider" so that I can skip it. Sadly, it seems that a growing chunk of SFGate is just repackaged BI garbage.
throwaway420 10y ago
I hope most folks realize that you're hearing the phrase "fake news" everywhere because this is a PR campaign created by the dying mainstream media industry to discredit the independent media who is siphoning off their viewership and influence. Can you imagine any other business having the temerity to call themselves real and their competition fake? Would you believe McDonalds and Burger King if they got together and decided to call all other restaurants "fake food"? Thank God Buzzfeed and organizations with as much rock solid integrity such as CNN are leading the crusade against "fake news".
- kevinburke 10y ago
  Not sure if by "the independent media" you mean "teenagers in Macedonia making up stories about how Hillary Clinton is a criminal." There are a number of sites that mix opinion and reporting more than, say, the New York Times. That's a separate category than sites and stories made of whole cloth.
- JacobJans 10y ago
  If only you were correct. Unfortunately, the problem of "fake news" is very real. For example, shortly after the Pope basically denounced the current president elect, a news article went around saying the Pople was endorsing Donald Trump. This was shared a million+ times. The problem of fake news is not subjective. It is a problem of active and obvious deception. I have interacted with many people who have shared blatantly false articles, based on clearly invented "facts." articles. These articles were always shared by many thousands of people. What are you basing your comment on? The way you want the world to be? That's exactly how many of the Fake News articles operate. Sad.

8 points by kevinburke 10y ago

> Facebook is mulling a Collections feature that would highlight only curated publishers, according to Business Insider, de-emphasizing viral clickbait. Funny, I consider Business Insider to be one of the most prolific purveyors of clickbait. When I read news on SFGate.com, I always hover over a headline to see if the link contains "businessinsider" so that I can skip it. Sadly, it seems that a growing chunk of SFGate is just repackaged BI garbage.

throwaway420 10y ago

I hope most folks realize that you're hearing the phrase "fake news" everywhere because this is a PR campaign created by the dying mainstream media industry to discredit the independent media who is siphoning off their viewership and influence. Can you imagine any other business having the temerity to call themselves real and their competition fake? Would you believe McDonalds and Burger King if they got together and decided to call all other restaurants "fake food"? Thank God Buzzfeed and organizations with as much rock solid integrity such as CNN are leading the crusade against "fake news".

kevinburke 10y ago
Not sure if by "the independent media" you mean "teenagers in Macedonia making up stories about how Hillary Clinton is a criminal." There are a number of sites that mix opinion and reporting more than, say, the New York Times. That's a separate category than sites and stories made of whole cloth.
JacobJans 10y ago
If only you were correct. Unfortunately, the problem of "fake news" is very real. For example, shortly after the Pope basically denounced the current president elect, a news article went around saying the Pople was endorsing Donald Trump. This was shared a million+ times. The problem of fake news is not subjective. It is a problem of active and obvious deception. I have interacted with many people who have shared blatantly false articles, based on clearly invented "facts." articles. These articles were always shared by many thousands of people. What are you basing your comment on? The way you want the world to be? That's exactly how many of the Fake News articles operate. Sad.