We're almost a month into Russia's invasion of Ukraine and we're still dealing with war-related propaganda, disinformation, and fake news -- most of it coming from the Russian side. You've probably read or heard about Russian president Vladimir Putin citing as one his "justifications" for his invasion the need to "de-Nazify" Ukraine. (In Putin's words, … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending March 18, 2022
Disinformation, propaganda, and fake news surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine dominates the fake news news this week. The good news, I suppose, is that all the fake news about Ukraine has driven fake news about COVID off the radar screen. It appears that the normal group of Russian bots that used to spread fake … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending March 11, 2022
Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues full force, providing ample examples of how fake news, propaganda, and disinformation flourish during wartime. In no certain order: The BBC reports on how the Ukrainian invasion is being covered on Russian television -- it's a bit different from the story we're seeing in western media. A country at war … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending March 4, 2022
Russia has invaded Ukraine and the fog of war is upon us. Wartime is primetime for propaganda, disinformation, and all sorts of fake news, and we're finding plenty of that in the current environment -- and only some of it is coming from the Russians. Russian president, oligarch, and would-be czar Vladimir Putin went on … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending February 25, 2022
Fake news isn't limited to just the United States, as was quite evident this week. You've no doubt been reading about the so-called "Freedom Convoy" that's disrupting business in Canada. The group of mildly annoyed truckers have been using their trucks to stall traffic and block the bridge between Windsor and Detroit to protest their … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending February 18, 2022
Is fake news fictitious information or is it a label to apply to something real that you don't like? (Correct answer: All of the above, apparently.) Here's a quick reminder of how disgraced losing president Donald J. Trump hijacked the phrase "fake news" (and my book of the same title) for his own nefarious personal … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending February 11, 2022
The U.S. government this week claimed that Russia has elaborate plans for a "false flag" operation designed to justify/initiate an invasion of Ukraine. This operation would involve a fake attack on Russian-speaking residents of Ukraine or against Russia itself and be staged by "crisis actors" accompanied by fabricated video footage full of "graphic scenes of … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending February 24, 2022
What does Neil Young have to do with fake news? Read on to find out. Famous musician Neil Young made an ultimatum to streaming music service Spotify this week: get rid of podcaster Joe Rogan or remove Young's music from the service. Rogan, a former actor and reality show host, is known for his controversial … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending January 28, 2022
Lots of little tidbits regarding fake news this week. They all add up. Who is most likely to spread fake news? Is it the conservatives? Trump supporters? The poorly educated? Just-published research dismisses some of these usual suspects, finding that conservatives and Trump supporters in general are not necessarily fake news spreaders. Instead, the people … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending January 21, 2022
The world of fiction continues to collide with the world of fact. A lot of knowledgeable people object to that and are starting to take action, as witnessed in some of our top fake news stories this week. Doctors argue that spreading COVID vaccine misinformation is malpractice and should be punished. NBC News has the … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending January 14, 2022
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