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20%-40% of partisan FB "fake news" posts are false

20%-40% of partisan FB "fake news" posts are false

Our analysis of three hyperpartisan right-wing Facebook pages found that 38% of all posts were either a mixture of true and false or mostly false, compared to 19% of posts from three hyperpartisan left-wing pages that were either a mixture of true and false or mostly false. The right-wing pages are among the forces — perhaps as potent as the cable news shows that have gotten far more attention — that helped fuel the rise of Donald Trump. These pages,…

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20%-40% of partisan FB “fake news” posts are false

20%-40% of partisan FB “fake news” posts are false

Our analysis of three hyperpartisan right-wing Facebook pages found that 38% of all posts were either a mixture of true and false or mostly false, compared to 19% of posts from three hyperpartisan left-wing pages that were either a mixture of true and false or mostly false. The right-wing pages are among the forces — perhaps as potent as the cable news shows that have gotten far more attention — that helped fuel the rise of Donald Trump. These pages,…

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Breitbart, Occupy Democrats among list of alleged fake, news sites 

Breitbart, Occupy Democrats among list of alleged fake, news sites 

[Professor] Zimdars puts the news sites into four categories. Category one deals with sites that rely on “outrage culture”, using distorted headlines or misleading information. Category two are sites that “circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information.” Category three is for more click-bait type websites that still deliver questionable information. And category four deals with satires news site like The Onion. The satires sites are included into the list because Zimdars thinks they sometimes contribute to the cycle of misinformation. The list includes…

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Strawman argument: False quote asserts candidate is an idiot

Strawman argument: False quote asserts candidate is an idiot

Goal: Dr. Ben Carson is an idiot Method: Assertion, Strawman Argument: Fabricate a statement about your opponent and then use that fabrication to argue your opponent is an idiot. Scorecard: Over 36,000 shares within a month of this propaganda item posted online. Snopes.com notes the headline is fiction; Dr. Carson never said what is claimed. Here is the original headline: A political report claimed Dr. Ben Carson said he had no idea how gravity works but asserted climate change is a hoax….

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Using social media to spread mass misinformation

Using social media to spread mass misinformation

Recent Wikileaks revelations have unleashed a torrent of absurdities on social media. A search of Twitter for #Wikileaks turns up numerous posts making claims that are not supported – yet are eagerly shared and “liked”. The posts cover the full spectrum from both left and right, and are all absurd. There are people asserting that a short quote from a Wikileaks document means “X” when the full context shows it does not. There are quotes that are not in the Wikileaks…

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