The document discusses the phenomenon of fake news, highlighting how false information is spread for political or financial gain, often supported by social media. It provides examples of fake news stories and their impact on public trust in media, while also mentioning related concepts like disinformation and propaganda. The prevalence of fake news contributes to a post-truth environment where emotions and personal beliefs overshadow objective facts.

1. Well-wishers left flowers and notes outside Comet Ping Pong, the pizza restaurant
in Washington that was the target of fake news stories linking it to a child sex
trafficking ring. (AP)​
Fake News

2. 2/15/17, 5:40 AM
The fake news media is going crazy with their conspiracy theories and blind
hatred. @MSNBC & @CNN are unwatchable. @foxandfriends is great!
Michael Flynn Resigns as National Security Adviser

3. Sensationalist and extreme designed to inflame passions and prejudices

4. Fake News - defined
Fake news - False information deliberately circulated by those who
have scant regard for the truth but hope to advance particular (often
extreme) political causes and/or make money out of online
traffic…energized by social media.
False news - Information that is circulated by journalists who do not
realize it is false…all unintended errors of fact in the history of
journalism. Damages trust in media. False news is not intentional.
The manipulation of the term fake news: - News source that someone
doesn’t want to acknowledge and so uses the term fake news to justify
silencing it. Censorship of the press numbs scrutiny. Hostile to
democratic process
Amol Rajan (16, January, 2017)-Bbc.com http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38636042

5. Related closely to the following:
Propaganda - The systematic dissemination of information, esp. in a
biased or misleading way, in order to promote a political cause or
point of view. Also: information disseminated in this way; the means
or media by which such ideas are disseminated. (OED)
Disinformation - The dissemination of deliberately false information,
esp. when supplied by a government or its agent to a foreign power
or to the media, with the intention of influencing the policies or
opinions of those who receive it; false information so supplied. (OED)
Psychological warfare - The use (originally as a military strategy) of
tactics intended to undermine the morale or allegiance of one's
opponent or opponents, as opposed to physical force. (OED)

6. An example of how Fake News grows
• Fox News – Megyn Kelly reported it on her morning show although
the quote was unverified
• BuzzFeedNews – Debunks the released transcripts
https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/that-bucket-of-losers-clinton-speech-
transcript-is-totally-f?utm_term=.vqG13ly6n#.cbBag6V9n
More than 2,000 emails belonging to Hillary Clinton campaign chair John
Podesta were released by WikiLeaks (October). In that cache of
documents were details of paid speeches Clinton gave to Goldman Sachs
and other financial firms. A fake transcript began making the rounds. It
includes a section where Clinton supposedly refers to “a collection of
generally under-represented, low social capital individuals” as a “bucket of
losers.” http://www.realtruenews.org/
• The American Mirror reported it http://www.theamericanmirror.com/wall-street-
speech-hillary-threw-americans-bucket-losers/

7. There is BIG money in
Fake News
• Money comes from ads, provided by the self-service ad
technology of companies such as Google (AdSense) and
Facebook.
• How much money can you bring in by making stuff up and
putting it on the Internet? “I make like $10,000 a month from
AdSense,” Paul Horner, a prolific, Facebook-focused fake-news
writer told us this week.
- Abby Ohlheiser, Washington Post, November 18, 2016

8. http://101geek.com/how-to-make-big-money-online-with-fake-news-full-guide
In fact you make big money creating your own
fake news: For educational purposes only!

9. http://abcnews.com.co/obama-executive-order-bans-pledge-of-allegiance-in-
schools/
President Obama signed an Executive Order banning the
Pledge of Allegiance in schools nationwide?
- Real or Fake?

10. Fake. There was nothing to this report, which was just
another recycled hoax promulgated by a malware-spreading
fake news site - abcnews.com.co - that illegally appropriates
the trademarks of legitimate news organizations such as
ABC News. 2,177,000 Facebook shares, comments and
reactions. (Real site abcnews.go.com)
http://www.snopes.com/pledge-of-allegiance-ban/

11. Did Pope Francis endorses Donald Trump for President?
-Real or Fake?

12. http://cf.factcheck.org/2016/10/did-the-pope-endorse-trump/
Fake of course. Pope Francis’ supposed
endorsement of Trump originated on the
satirical website WTOE 5 News, with the
headline “Pope Francis Shocks World,
Endorses Donald Trump for President,
Releases Statement.” 961,000 Facebook
shares, comments and reactions

13. Top Republicans on the House science committee claim a former National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist “confirmed” that his
NOAA colleagues “manipulated” climate data for a 2015 study.
- Fact or Fake?
https://science.house.gov/news/press-releases/former-noaa-scientist-confirms-colleagues-
manipulated-climate-records
Global Warming

14. http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/02/fake_n
ews_hits_the_global_warming_debate.html
Fake News: Global Warming Edition

15. with the scientific process."
"These types of statements by
policymakers that attempt to
take one study/dispute and
blow it out of proportion are
both unhelpful and
misleading…we will be working
with the science committee to
demonstrate the scientific
consensus on climate change
and to encourage them not to
interfere.” - American
Geophysical Union President
Eric Davidson, 2/6/17
Energy & Environment News (E&E)

16. Fake news is killing people's
minds, says Apple boss Tim Cook
"It's almost as if a new course is required for
the modern kid, for the digital kid."
Allister Heath http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/02/10/fake-
news-killing-peoples-minds-says-apple-boss-tim-cook/

17. The metamorphosis of Fake News
• Post-truth - Relating to or denoting circumstances in which
objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion
than appeals to emotion and personal belief (Oxford
Dictionaries Word of the Year)
• Alternative facts - phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the
President Kellyanne Conway during a Meet the Press
interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White
House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's false statement about the
attendance at Donald Trump's inauguration as President of
the United States.

18. A good resolution is sometimes
the most obvious