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Mark Zuckerberg Needs to Wake Up: Fake News Still Rampant on Facebook 2

Mark Zuckerberg Needs to Wake Up: Fake News Still Rampant on Facebook

Keith Girard
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg learned the hard way that he was an unwitting dupe in the flood of fake news and conspiracy theories that flooded his social media site during the 2016 election. But he still doesn’t get it. A new study by the Poynter Institute, a non-profit school for journalism in St. Petersburg, Fla., has found that two of the leading purveyors of fake news and conspiracy theories–InfoWars and YourNewsWire– are still publishing freely on Facebook....
CULTUREMEDIA
Holy Orwell! See Sinclair News Outlets Push Trump Fake News Trope in Lock-Step 4

Holy Orwell! See Sinclair News Outlets Push Trump Fake News Trope in Lock-Step

Keith Girard
George Orwell predicted that newsspeak would come to dominate local news programming. He was just wrong about the date. Instead of “1984,” newsspeak has arrived in 2018. Just watch these local news anchors in different markets spout the same Donald Trump trope about Fake News–in lock-step. What unites these stations in markets as widely varied as Montana and South Carolina is not the same ideological beliefs but corporate owner Sinclair Broadcasting, which forces its beliefs on the stations. ...
CULTUREMEDIA
Alex Jones who traffics in hard-right hate, conspiracy theories is pushing a fake coronavirus cure, officials say. (Photo: ScreenCap)

Alex Jones Busted on YouTube for Alt-Right Conspiracy Mongering

Keith Girard
Alex Jones, the bombastic commentator who traffics in false stories and wild conspiracy theories as a form of “entertainment,” is finally being call out by the biggest purveyor of his dreck–YouTube. Jones and his program, Infowars, were slapped for posting a video promoting a conspiracy theory about the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Seventeen people were killed and dozens were wounded by a lone shooter with an AR-15 assault rifle....
MEDIA
Alex Jones is pushing a fake cure for coronavirus on his Infowars web show. (Photo: ScreenCap)

Right Wing Harranger Alex Jones a Vile Fake; Stephen Colbert Explains (See!)

Keith Girard
Alex Jones, the self-righteous right wing harranger, who attracted a large following by spewing vile racist and misogynistic invective over the radio and Internet, is finally getting his comeuppance in a most unusual way. Stephen Colbert hilarious explained his fall from grace. Jones’ strongly opinionated “reporting” pushed the envelope on fake news....
COMEDY
Huffington Post Caves to Right Wing Pressure Over Satirical Article 6

Huffington Post Caves to Right Wing Pressure Over Satirical Article

David Fagin
The Huffington Post has caved to right wing pressure over a satirical article published on its comedy page, in a disturbing example of self-censorship that sends the wrong signal about the role of the media. President Trump and his hard right surrogates have been waging an unrelenting war against media outlets that report unpleasant truths about his lies, fuck ups, bungling and miscues....
MEDIA
Mariah Carey Ends Year of Fake News, With Epic Fake Music Fail (watch!) 8

Mariah Carey Ends Year of Fake News, With Epic Fake Music Fail (watch!)

Keith Girard
Mariah Carey became an instant symbol of a year gone awry last night. She ushered in the New Year on live television with an epic fake music fail that in many ways symbolized the nation’s descent into fake news, demagoguery and fatalism. You can’t say she didn’t have it coming. Carey, who is known for a five-octave voice, has lip-synced her live performances for years....
ENTERTAINMENT
Prince Harry Linked to Pippa; Tabloid Hits a New Low in Fake Reporting 12

Prince Harry Linked to Pippa; Tabloid Hits a New Low in Fake Reporting

Keith Girard
Prince Harry and Pippa Middleton have been romantically linked in a sensational story in tabloid OK magazine. But it’s not OK. The article is baseless, despite attempting to gin up a connection. Instead, the tabloid hits a new low. Pippa’s only connection to royalty is through her sister Kate, who married Harry’s brother Prince William. So she’s Harry’s sister-in-law. Until the tabloid story broke today, the two have never been linked romantically....
CELEBRITIES
Kourtney Kardashian, Scott Disick Breakup Faked for 'KUWTK' Drama 14

Kourtney Kardashian, Scott Disick Breakup Faked for ‘KUWTK’ Drama

Keith Girard
Kourtney Kardashian has dumped Scott Disick, again. But like previous rough patches between the two, this one is largely made up to provide a story line for the Kardashian’s reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” Gotta find some drama somewhere. The impetus for the breakup were photos of Disick with friend and long-time stylist Chloe Bartoli....
REALITY TV
New York's Top Cop Cracks Down on Phony Online Reviews 16

New York’s Top Cop Cracks Down on Phony Online Reviews

Keith Girard
New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is cracking down on search engine optimization companies that engage in a “black hat” SEO scheme known as “Astroturfing.” It involves placing phony reviews on Web sites to boost traffic. The investigation, known as “Operation Clean Turf,” discovered that companies have been hiring freelance writers to post glowing reviews online to game Google’s search engine rankings....
MEDIA