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
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
COVID-related disinformation and vaccine hesitancy keep leading the fake news parade. It continues to amaze me that about a third of the people in this country insist on believing random people on social media rather than the legions of doctors, scientists, and other experts who report the facts that the COVID vaccine is both safe … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending August 6, 2021
If a politician lies, does that automatically make it fake news? Fake news can be disinformation, misinformation, propaganda, hoaxes, and conspiracy theories, as well as lying outright for a particular purpose. But when a politician just comes out and says things that everybody knows isn't true, is that necessary fake news or just the politician … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending June 18, 2021
As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, here's all the fake news that's not fit to print. According to a survey by the PRI Institute, 15% of Americans (and 23% of Republicans) agree with the statement that "the government, media and financial worlds in the U.S. are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending May 28, 2021
There were two big stories dominating the fake news news this week, so let's dive right into them. The first big fake news story this week originated in an article in the UK's Daily Mail that claimed, quite erroneously, that President Joe Biden's plan to reduce greenhouse emissions "would require Americans to only consume about … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending April 30, 2021
With all the fake news going around, April Fools Day just wasn't the same. I mean, can anybody come up with a bigger joke than QAnon or virus hoaxes? With Dominion Voting Systems suing Fox News and a slew of right-wing rumor mongers, it's clear that one way to fight disinformation and conspiracy theories is … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending April 2, 2021
Sometimes disseminating fake news has consequences. Read on to learn more... The big news this morning is that Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion for defamation regarding Fox spreading falsehoods that Dominion used its voting machines to rig the 2020 presidential election. Fox News is often anything but and they need … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending March 26, 2021
Believers in conspiracy theories and fake news eventually have a hard time when they go up against the hard facts of reality. Keep that in mind as you read on... Well, March 4th came and went and Donald Trump was not returned to the presidency in a blaze of revisionist history, as some in the … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending March 5, 2021
I suppose it's no surprise that the volume of fake news news is increasing geometrically as we get closer to the November 3rd election. (And not all of it is Trump-related, either.) Let's get to it. Which news media you listen to determines your reaction to the facts of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. A Pew … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending October 9, 2020
This Week in Fake News 