TL; DR Summary Part 1: Denmark is the world’s happiest nation because of the following reasons (Not true) Part 2: Denmark has a $20/hour minimum wage (No, it does not). Part 3: Denmark has a 33 hour work week (No, it does not) Part 4: Denmark has Free University ? Yes but read why – it’s not why you think) Part 5: Denmark has Free Childcare? No, it does not – this claim is a lie). Part 6: Denmark has…
These fake news sites are apparently more profitable than “real news” web sites. One of the websites that ended up on a widely-shared list of “fake news” purveyors is run out of a house in Seattle. Source: Seattle’s own ‘click-bait’ news site serves up red meat for liberals And employs 11 writers and makes tons of money. As we have been saying, for profit, social media-based, emotionally laden publishing has been around a long time and crosses the full political…
BuzzFeed News identified more than 100 pro-Trump websites being run from a single town in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Source: How Teens In The Balkans Are Duping Trump Supporters With Fake News – BuzzFeed News As this blog has pointed out, fake news sites are prevalent across the political spectrum. They aim for the emotional response of their target audience – and generate revenue from click through advertising. The young Macedonians who run these sites say they don’t…
A 16-year-old who runs a site called BVAnews.com told him it’s averaging 1 million page views per month. He declined to share revenue figures, but in theory that could translate to tens of thousands of U.S. dollars per year—many times more than Macedonia’s median income. The 16-year-old told Silverman he experimented with pro–Bernie Sanders news during the primary, but found pro-Trump content far more popular on the social network. Source: Facebook Is Fueling an International Boom in Pro-Trump Propaganda
Studying geology is a hobby for me. I subscribe to some FB groups that feature items about geology. However, this post from Geology of the world and the Environment is fake. I fell for it and stupidly shared it into my timeline, tagging my youngest daughter, who is a geologist and microbiologist, seeking her input (she was out of town at the time so I did not get a reply). When I first saw it, I read up on “Watermelon…
The following poster has appeared many times in my social media feed. The conclusion you are intended to draw is also false. Source Another variation: TL; DR Summary These posters imply that Tesla cared about people more than making money versus Thomas Edison, who he once worked for as an employee (or another version of the poster, the evil person is George Westinghhouse) who only cared about making money. In reality, Tesla’s nearly 300 patents made him a very rich…
TL;DR Summary Native Americans and others are protesting oil pipeline construction in North Dakota. This “news” item says the “U.S. government bans Native American Tribe from Protesting on their own land – send in police to remove protesters”. The graphic image looks scary. Except that is not a Native American and this photo is from 2012, in Rio de Janiero, Brazil and has nothing to do with the events occurring in North Dakota. That is a first clue that this may…
The petition that was supposedly blasting through 3 million signatures 3 days after the Brexit vote, is acknowledged to have been filled with fraudulent signatures added by bots. Source: EXCLUSIVE: Brexit ‘2nd Referendum Petition’ A 4 Chan Prank: BBC Report It As Real | Heat Street The BBC has updated their news report to indicate the petition may contain “suspicious activity” and that fraudulently added signatures have been identified. Fake news runs rampant thanks to social media enabling anyone and everyone to become…
TL;DR Summary Photo allegedly shows injuries to a female Trump supporter after violent protests against Trump at a Trump campaign rally. The photo is actually a test photo of an actress, after injury makeup was applied, as part of a movie production. The photo has nothing to do with a Trump rally. The photo was distributed by a small Facebook page called “Conservative Nation” (the post has apparently been removed) and was then shared thousands of time online. Photos are “re-purposed”…
TL;DR Summary Occupy Democrats makes an assertion that is easily proven wrong. The link between the bridge collapse and the real world events is a logical fallacy. This is the same format as last year’s false claim about an overpass collapse (Read that link – its unbelievable). What actually caused this collapse? A truck crashed in to the bridge, causing the collapse. “Officials say the collapse of the bridge was not a design or maintenance-related issue.” But, alluding to last year’s false poster…