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An Increase In Fake News? Debate

Is there an increase in fake news?

  • Yes

    Votes: 11 84.6%

  • No

    Votes: 2 15.4%

  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    13
I think the issue is supposed to be that journalistic standards have taken a beating since the Advent of online news providers with a drive for fast clicks and no such ethical compunctions. Of course in the UK we're becoming increasingly aware that 'press standards' never were all that.
 
AlchoPwn said:
I found the Wikipedia entry very enlightening: Fake News. It is especially good to see an article with 383 footnotes.

As to the growth in Fake News, well, apart from the political polarization of news reportage with zero consequences for spreading falsehood, there is also the issue that sensationalism sells. Add to this the increasing global adoption of the Russian Model of disinformation, which has been so effective at silencing opposition to Putin, and the steep increase in social media's reach into people's lives, and I think we can account for the level of garbage news we are receiving.

Incidentally, the poll for this forum topic seems broken.
Click to expand...

Poll was time-limited but results were lost in the transition. It has now been reset and reopened.

Thank you.
 
I don't really know what to vote. Obviously fake news has itself become newsworthy. But does that mean there is actually more of it than in the days when we would have been too polite to suspect our media of generating stories for their own purposes? Hasn't the BBC, for example, always had a political stance, traditionally conservative and now 'liberal' ? (I mean what the Americans call 'liberal', not what Liberal used to mean in the UK)
 
What qualifies as 'fake news' and on which media outlets ?
I don't even pay attention to the fringe ones....and my wife and I only watch the mainstream ones to get the basic news.
I don't see what I would think is 'fake news' on them....but then I';m not a right wing supporter of The Donald.
;)
 
I’m fed up with the BBC’s selective and misreporting of events to create a narrative.
This whole thing has recently just blown up in the face of the BBC. I won’t say more except that the whole thing was based on an incomplete quote. It's easy to create an agenda and today’s reporters and broadcasters are not entirely innocent.
That’s my opinion anyway. Other opinions may vary but I’m right.
Fake News as a term is itself a lazy thought form. The subject of news reporting deserves a more considered conversation than we can do here.
So the poll is actually pointless.
 
Interesting but what if the bot is hacked and delivers false results?

Canada's CBC public broadcaster has responded to concerns about fake news in the current parliamentary election campaign by launching a chat bot to assess the veracity of reports.

An international opinion poll has found that 90% of Canadians have fallen for fake news online. with many identifying Facebook as the most common source of misleading reports.

The looming polling day of 21 October has focused minds, and CBC says the whole fake-news issue "will, more than ever, play a role in this federal election".The chat bot aims to "equip voters with the right tools and help them spot and avoid sharing untrue reports", according to the broadcaster.

Chat bots are software that create a conversation by auditory or textual methods, and CBC is using Facebook's Messenger platform to answer any questions Canadians might have about whether to believe election news or not.

https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-49735528
 
It will be interesting to see how this initiative in Singapore unfolds. It's easy to see how it could be "good" or "bad", depending on how authorities end up applying it. Perhaps the key element in its success or failure will be whether anyone (e.g., whistleblowers, authorities) actually invests the effort necessary to make it work (for good or for ill ... ).
Singapore 'fake news' law comes into force, offenders face fines and prison time

Singapore's sweeping anti-fake news law, which critics warn could be used to suppress free speech in the already tightly controlled Asian city state, came into force Wednesday.

Under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill, it is now illegal to spread "false statements of fact" under circumstances in which that information is deemed "prejudicial" to Singapore's security, public safety, "public tranquility," or to the "friendly relations of Singapore with other countries," among numerous other topics.

Government ministers can decide whether to order something deemed fake news to be taken down, or for a correction to be put up alongside it. They can also order technology companies such as Facebook and Google -- both of which opposed the bill during its fast-tracked process through parliament -- to block accounts or sites spreading false information.

The act also provides for prosecutions of individuals, who can face fines of up to 50,000 SGD (over $36,000), and, or, up to five years in prison. If the alleged falsehood is posted using "an inauthentic online account or controlled by a bot," the total potential fine rises to 100,000 SGD (around $73,000), and, or, up to 10 years in prison.

Companies found guilty of spreading "fake news" can face fines of up to 1 million SGD (around $735,000).

The government has promised anyone who is affected by the bill will be able to lodge an appeal quickly and cheaply, but rights groups and lawyers have repeatedly warned it could be subject to abuse and may have a stifling effect on free speech.

Singapore's Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said that ministers will have to explain why a piece of content is false if they are ordering a takedown or correction, and will not simply be able to arbitrarily issue a ruling. ...
Click to expand...
FULL STORY: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/02/asia/singapore-fake-news-internet-censorship-intl-hnk/index.html
 
EnolaGaia said:
It will be interesting to see how this initiative in Singapore unfolds. It's easy to see how it could be "good" or "bad", depending on how authorities end up applying it. Perhaps the key element in its success or failure will be whether anyone (e.g., whistleblowers, authorities) actually invests the effort necessary to make it work (for good or for ill ... ).FULL STORY: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/02/asia/singapore-fake-news-internet-censorship-intl-hnk/index.html
Click to expand...
I confess that I am quite interested to see how this piece of legislation fares in the longer term. Singapore is a pretty draconian little state when it wants to be. Much will depend on how Singapore's courts decide the test cases, as to whether such a law is a valuable protection for consumers of news, or whether it becomes a tool of political repression.
 
Fake news only becomes significant and dangerous when it is driven by an agenda
- agenda driven news is designed by certain people to achieve their objective
- Often their objective may cost many lives, that's the real danger.

Let me take a specific case of fake news that actually has one billionaire spending
150 million dollars to achieve the agenda. - How he might be manipulating the
facts and the news we can only guess at - But observation makes it obvious.

Specifically?

There is a new disease, almost only in the United States with no clear cause and
effect and apparently effecting only Americans and not the people in the UK or other countries - Apparently Americans are biologically different {if you want to believe this fake agenda driven news story} so that the use of e cigarettes {vaping} causes rapid addiction, and an unclear and undefined lung disease and death.

Any cases in the UK or other countries? Why only in the US?

Here are some observations:

1. The major tobacco settlement against cigarette manufacturers that required
and still requires big tobacco to fork over millions, if not billions of dollars to
state governments is in jeopardy of big time loss as many, many people have
switched to the generally recognized as safer than smoking use of tobacco.

2. The 'Prohibitionist' mentality that brought on the war on alcohol and eventually
gave rise to the modern day underworld - and later was extended to drugs,
especially marijuana - Has been consistently losing ground and with the rise
of a new safer tobacco product feel threatened - They would still like to outlaw
tobacco and vaping is the biggest threat they faced in years.

3. Starting about two years ago they began a campaign of overly exaggerating
use by underage minors {actually probably encouraging the underage to try the
product} and began the run away addiction disease - this did nothing.

4. They needed and created a disease - A disease that does not exist
- scarring people more that the bogey man was going to get them if they
used e cigarettes.

5. The American news media has gone with this fake news story big time
- Its almost like the're trying to panic people and governments to outlaw
this 'so-called' very dangerous product.

6. And its working - One state has outlawed vapes and several states have
outlawed flavors - And even Mr. 'fake news' himself Donald Trump has decided
to go with this one - saying all flavored vapes will be outlawed - And you can
smell prohibition being the next step.

7, Many smokers are already being scared - And many will return to traditional
cancer causing cigarettes as the fake news agenda, continuously being harped
on by the media have already caused many to believe that vapes are more dangerous than traditional cigarettes - even though after careful analysis:
"The Royal College of Physicians......."e-cigarettes are beneficial to UK public and can be reassured that e-cigarettes are much safer than smoking and smokers can be reassured and encouraged to use them....."
Apparently this doesn't apply to Americans though as Americans apparently have
different kinds of lungs - Or are they easier to bamboozle with fake news?!?!

So you see agenda driven fake news, especially if there might be at least some truth
to it, can be used in ways that endanger the public's health far more than the
risks of the substances they are using

Prohibitionists a hundred or so years ago would have you believe that even a whiff
of drinking alcohol was dangerous - And they got an entire nation to outlaw
it, brought big time organized crime into being , caused more misery, suffering and death than alcohol ever did - And yes alcohol is dangerous - but not nearly as dangerous as the dick heads who outlawed it !!

WARNING: FAKE NEWS MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH !!!
 
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AlienView said:
Prohibitionists a hundred or so years ago would have you believe that even a whiff
of drinking alcohol was dangerous - And they got an entire nation to outlaw it, brought big time organized crime into being , caused more misery, suffering and death than alcohol ever did - And yes alcohol is dangerous - but not nearly as dangerous as the dick heads who outlawed it !! WARNING: FAKE NEWS MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH !!!
Click to expand...
Preachin' to the choir buddy, but thx.
 
I suspect this stems from the decline of the regulated mainstream media - newspaper sales have plummeted in recent years, and the huge rise in unregulated so-called social media.
Bullshit had never travelled so fast as it does on Facebook, Twitter and such like.
 
Alien View,

Why do you believe that the vaping problem is only in America ?

There are lots of commentary on the hazards from all over the world .

India, I believe, has banned it. And there are very many people who have never smoked tobacco who are addicted to it.

'Fake news' tends to be the news that those subjected to it do not wish others to know about.

INT21.
 
blessmycottonsocks said:
I suspect this stems from the decline of the regulated mainstream media - newspaper sales have plummeted in recent years, and the huge rise in unregulated so-called social media.
Bullshit had never travelled so fast as it does on Facebook, Twitter and such like.
Click to expand...
Newspapers in the UK have long been able to publish unsubstantiated and even fabricated stories with impunity.
 
INT21 said:
Alien View,

Why do you believe that the vaping problem is only in America ?

There are lots of commentary on the hazards from all over the world .

India, I believe, has banned it. And there are very many people who have never smoked tobacco who are addicted to it.

'Fake news' tends to be the news that those subjected to it do not wish others to know about.

INT21.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you mentioned India - Yes, the prime minister of India announced a ban
with serious criminal penalties for the use of any e cigarettes based upon the few
people dying and getting sick in the US. - Not fake news, but insane news!

But this makes perfect sense when you consider:

Smoking in India

"Smoking in public places was prohibited nationwide from 2 October 2008. There are approximately 120 million smokers in India. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India is home to 12% of the world’s smokers. More than 1 million people die every year due to tobacco related illnesses.[1] As of 2015, the number of men smoking tobacco in India rose to 108 million, an increase of 36%, between 1998 and 2015 [2] "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_in_India

So why does the vape ban make sense in India?

India has a population and poverty problem and e cigarettes will not kill, if they kill
at all, nearly as many people as the good old fashioned cancer causing
burning tobacco cigarettes do. + I imagine that the sale of burning tobacco products produces many millions of dollars in revenue - And vape e cigarettes
may not be as lucrative - and 'probably' big tobacco paid more money to
Indian politicians to outlaw vapes.

So you see how smart India is? Make money and kill off its excess population
- Still a cynic might ask if Mother India is beginning to resemble 'The Whore of
Babylon'


See:

A Billion Lives' Documentary Suggests There's a Conspiracy Against Vaping






WARNING: FAKE NEWS MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH !!!
 
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dr wu said:
Interesting that this thread started in 2006...regarding 'fake news'...but I honestly don't recall hearing the term until Trump started with it in 2016.
This BBC piece seems to imply 2016 also......?
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-42724320
Click to expand...


Interesting article - And I'll post a quick YouTube video describing the contemporary problem,

BUT I could show how fake {or at least biased, agenda driven} news has been going on throughout history.

In the relatively modern era you of course had the Nazis using the big lie to achieve World domination - And not so long ago you had Joe McCarthy in {back in the '50s} who supposedly had a list of all the Communists inside the US Government}
- In fact, now that you mention it, that would be a good idea to write a book about
- "A HISTORY OF FAKE NEWS FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO MODERN"

But you are right about one thing - the term 'fake news' only started to become popular recently, even though its been going on probably as long as news existed.

How "fake news" and misinformation online is changing society
 
Well.....I think Zuckerberg first and foremost wants to make money with Facebook...; any other considerations come second imo.
 
dr wu said:
Interesting that this thread started in 2006...regarding 'fake news'...but I honestly don't recall hearing the term until Trump started with it in 2016.
This BBC piece seems to imply 2016 also......?
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-42724320
Click to expand...

There was a documentary about fake news on BBC4 a few weeks ago - the term "fake news" dates back to the late 1800s.
 
In a more-contemporary context- I can honestly say that (for me) the concept of 'fake news' has been a continuous concern since 1992. I don't mean in some misguided vague psychopathological way, I mean in as detectably-objective and analytical fashion as possible.

I do mean at a fundamental level far-removed from any distractive conspiracy theory....and certainly not mere syndication.

Any genuinely-thinking person who believes every news item featured by the mainstream media is a self-deluding fool.

Also: in an ever-confusing layer of confusion, for those that can actually see (rather than just watching)....it's not only a question of being false/fake/fabricated: it's often so clearly-obvious as to be a self-parody

 
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Mark Zuckerberg makes the case for Facebook News​

Anthony Ha@anthonyha / 5:08 AM GMT+9•October 26, 2019

While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg seemed cheerful and even jokey when he took the stage today in front of journalists and media executives (at one point, he described the event as “by far the best thing” he’d done this week), he acknowledged that there are reasons for the news industry to be skeptical.

Facebook, after all, has been one of the main forces creating a difficult economic reality for the industry over the past decade. And there are plenty of people (including our own Josh Constine) who think it would be foolish for publishers to trust the company again.
For one thing, there’s the question of how Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes different types of content, and how changes to the algorithm can be enormously damaging to publishers.

Article Continues:
https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/25/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-news/

Considering FB's history with selling users info and its apparent unconcern regarding factual information provided on its site, unless prompted to address these issues when there is a big backlash from its users, I don't know how I feel about this news that FB is moving into FB News.

I already quit using FB for its questionable privacy practises.
 
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