With Donald Trump now unemployed and kicked off social media, QAnon losing adherents left and right, and even the most rabid COVID vaccine hoaxters lining up to get their shots, the big drivers of fake news for the past year are fading into the background. That doesn't mean that there's no more fake news, unfortunately. … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending April 16, 2021
As we come to the end of what many consider the worst year in human history (top ten, maybe, but far from the worst, no matter how it may feel), let's take a moment to review the impact that fake news had on society. Long story short: a lot. Conspiracy theories, misinformation, disinformation, hoaxes, propaganda, … Continue reading Fake News 2020: The Year in Review
It's the end of July and the fake news keeps on coming, spurred along by the coronavirus and President Donald J. Trump and his minions. Let's get to it. The big dust-up this week concerns a video from "America's Frontline Doctors," a group of non-mainstream physicians who make series of dubious and outright false claims … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending July 31, 2020
Here's all the fake news that's not fit to print... Apparently exposure to Sean Hannity can be deadly. According to experts, misinformation spread by Fox News and other conservative media "may have intensified the severity" of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three different studies "paint a picture of a media ecosystem that entertains conspiracy theories and discourages … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending June 26, 2020
There is almost too much news about fake news this week, but we'll give it the old college try. Twitter continues to grow a backbone and stand up to President Trump's wildly misleading and outright false tweets. For the first time, Twitter labeled a Trump tweet as "manipulated media." (The tweet included a video that … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending June 19, 2020
Let's get to it: Not surprisingly, conspiracy theories and misinformation are running rampant regarding the police killing of George Floyd here in Minneapolis and the resultant protests and riots. "The conspiracy theories range from claims that Floyd’s arrest was staged to others saying he is still alive... Other unfounded claims say Floyd’s death was part … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending June 5, 2020
This has been an extremely busy week, even before all the fake news. Last week President Trump tweeted the disproven claim that mail-in voting is rife with fraud. (In his own words, "Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed.") This is blatantly false, and Twitter … Continue reading Fake News for the Week Ending May 29, 2020
