There's a lot of news about fake news this week, so let's get to it. The Department of Homeland Security announced a Disinformation Governance Board to counter Russian disinformation as well as misleading information that human smugglers circulate to target migrants hoping to travel to the U.S. Right-wingers immediately criticized the new board, claiming it … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending May 6, 2022
It's a mixed bag of fake news news this week, with the now-normal emphasis on Ukrainian-related disinformation. Here's encouraging news. Readers of my blog or book know that Fox News and other right-wing media are major disseminators of fake news, conspiracy theories, and other forms of disinformation about COVID-19, the 2020 presidential election, and other … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending April 8, 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
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
A year ago this week supporters of disgraced former president Donald J. Trump stormed the Capitol Building in what was clearly an attempt to overthrow Congress and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. This Insurrection was fueled by a belief in what has become known as the Big Lie, that Trump didn't lose … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending January 7, 2022
It's New Years' Eve, which means we forgo our regularly scheduled programming for an overview of all the real news about fake news during the past year. Let's do it month-by-month, okay? January The year 2021 started with then-current president Donald Trump beginning to propagate what became known as the Big Lie, that he actually … Continue reading Year in Review: Fake News in 2021
It's Christmas Eve so we're going to go a little light on the fake news news this week -- and have a Merry Christmas everyone! Supporters of disgraced former president Donald J. Trump have a new favorite January 6th-related conspiracy theory they're batting around. Right-wing bloviators (Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Joe Rogan, Rep. Marjorie Taylor … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending December 24, 2021
There's a lot of behind-the-scenes news about fake news this week, so let's jump right in. Remember the QAnon-flavored conspiracy theory that online home goods retailer Wayfair was somehow involved in child sex trafficking? The Washington Post does a deep dive into how that entire thing developed, starting with a Wayfair listing for a throw … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending December 17, 2021
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