Fake news on the web? You may have been hearing claims that Facebook ‘fake news’ posts helped to elect Donald Trump as our next president. True or not, the issue of ‘fake news’ posts is now enveloping Google too.
There are numerous sites on the internet that post satire as real news. The Onion, jumps to mind. Most people know those posts are not real.
A few months back, word spread that actor Matt Damon was moving to Florida. Okay, that’s plausible…but to the city of Pembroke Pines? Most unlikely, but the story went viral until people realized this was a hoax posting.
There are several sites where you can check to see if a post is real or not. One is Snopes.com and another is Truth or Fiction. When in doubt, check it out.
Some headlines:
USAToday: More fake news on the Web — this time, via Google
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook isn’t the only source of fake news on the Web.
Alphabet’s Google was dragged into the muck Monday, when its search engine prominently displayed an obscure right-wing blog, 70news.wordpress.com, that falsely claimed President-elect Donald Trump won the popular vote in last week’s election. (Hillary Clinton leads Trump by nearly 700,000 votes, but Trump won in the Electoral College, according to the Associated Press.)
CNET: Facebook employees reportedly fed up with fake news
Apparently, not everyone is happy with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s assurance that fake news on Facebook didn’t sway the election. Even the social network’s own employees.
An unofficial task force of Facebook employees is examining the company’s role in promoting fake news during the 2016 presidential race, reported BuzzFeed News on Monday. The task force is currently meeting in secret, according to multiple unnamed Facebook employees, but plans to submit a formal list of recommendations to Facebook’s senior management. The group reportedly includes employees from across the company.
How real is the concern over fake news posts…here are two reports worth watching:
Yahoo – Mark Zuckerberg is defending the social network from criticism that fake news and hoaxes swayed the election that Donald Trump won.
Bloomberg: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rejected the idea that fake news on the social network influenced the U.S. presidential election and said echo-chambers aren’t really a problem on the site. He spoke at the Techonomy conference in Half Moon Bay, California.
