The MSN Start page features fake news content – from almost anyone. Indeed, anyone can create a WordPress web site, publish their own content, and then submit it to MSN Start as a news source. Same with Yahoo News.

On January 10, 2024 I took this screen snapshot of a story that has been running continuously for months.

This “Letter to the Editor” is not news, of course, yet is prominently displayed. This Letter appeared in the LA Times in June of 2023. This is not contemporary news. MSN Start, like content mills, uses software to figure out what content will produce successful click-bait. Apparently, climate porn is the #1 source of click bait and their page is filled with highly speculative weather and climate stories, many of which are irrelevant nonsense, such as the above 7-month long publication of a letter to the editor.

Published studies show that news headlines have become increasingly based on fear and negativity since 2000. The algorithms pick this up.