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A story in The Conversation may be of interest to Soylentils:
"Fake news" is the buzzword of 2017. Barely a day goes by without a headline about president Donald Trump lambasting media "bias", or the spread of "alternative facts".
Many articles on the subject suggest that social media sites should do more to educate the public about misinformation, or that readers should think more critically about the sources of news stories before sharing them. But there are fundamental problems with this. First, there isn't a clear definition of what "fake news" really is. And second, it overlooks important aspects of people's psychological makeup.
"Fake news" can be classified in a number of ways and represented as a series of concentric circles. First, in the centre of the concentric model, we have actual fake news. These are the stories that we commonly see shared on sites such as News Thump and The Onion. These satirical stories are written for comedic purposes and are put together to entertain.
Next, we have propaganda articles. Typically, these pieces do not actually contain any real news value. They may, for example, detail an individual's past behaviour and suggest that that it reflects something about their current intentions. Alternatively, these pieces may contain some kernel of truth, but this may be twisted in such a way that it totally misleads audiences and misrepresents a story's true news value.
These propaganda articles take numerous forms. The Huffington Post, for example, included a caveat about Donald Trump's alleged bigotry whenever mentioning him in a story before the US election last November, while British readers will likely recall the Daily Mail's much-maligned attacks on former Labour leader Ed Miliband's late father in 2013, calling him a "man who hated Britain".
Finally, and occupying the outermost ring of the model, there are the stories that are technically true, but reflect the subtle editorial biases of the organisation publishing them. This reporting is commonplace within the mainstream media, through selective storytelling and politically-driven editorials. Whether this is reflected in the left-wing bias of The Guardian or the right-wing approach of the Murdoch media empire, this practice is less malicious and more a political interpretation of events.
There once was a precise word for the term "fake news" is trying to describe. Oh yes, it's "propaganda."
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Thursday June 01 2017, @02:02AM (11 children)
Ok, do a thought experiment. Be honest.
Close your eyes and picture Ann Coulter holding a similar mock head of Hillary Clinton. Let the anger build, the rage swell within you. Then see if you are capable of the thought required to understand why other people are outraged.
Now comes the practical politics. You won't see Coulter doing anything of the sort because it would be a career ending move for her. We all know it won't, despite the ritual denunciations from CNN and such, end Griffin. We are tired of the two caste system. See this [acecomments.mu.nu] post at the Ace of Spades Blog which will probably be going wide in the next 24 hours. We ARE going to be demanding the Left live by its own book of rules, per Alinsky. So be careful what you declare those rules to be.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 01 2017, @02:35AM (1 child)
...... nope. Still funny. Oh yeah. Face streaked with blood. Red skunk stripe through the hair. Eyes bulging. I'm loving it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 01 2017, @04:22AM
It would be funnier with Clinton holding Coulter's head.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday June 01 2017, @02:57AM (5 children)
Griffin was just fired for her actions, so it's quite possible it was in fact a career-ending move for her.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 01 2017, @03:03AM
Oh well. I'm sure she's filthy rich with royalties from when she was Alice on the Dilbert show.
Public opinion is so fickle I just want to behead every American.
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Thursday June 01 2017, @03:07AM (3 children)
She may, or may not have, lost a one night a year gig. New Years Eve is a long way off and odds are she will be right there again, being her usual unfunny self. More important she has dominated two news cycles now and received millions of dollars in free publicity which will sell plenty of tickets for the comedy tour she is currently on. When clubs cancel her shows, THEN you may tell me how she has suffered.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday June 01 2017, @03:13AM
Not to mention gaining new material for her stand-up.
Maybe she'll go from the D List to the Covfefe List.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Thursday June 01 2017, @04:37AM (1 child)
Ok, I stand corrected. Looks like she is going to pay a price [breitbart.com] for her antics. If you read the comments it appears like it isn't just one cancellation either.
There was a time when I objected to this sort of destruction of people who aren't principle actors. But her side made the rules, her side gleefully formed twitter rage mobs for years and destroyed random normies. Fuck her, hope she ends up on food stamps and thus serves as an example for others that these rules are stupid.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 01 2017, @08:11AM
No food stamps for Kathy, she'll go broke the same day basic income happens.
(Score: 1) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday June 01 2017, @03:34AM
What's happening at universities and colleges is shameful. It's disgraceful to our country. Except Trump University and the Electoral College. You know I talked to Hillary on the phone. It was a lovely call and it was a tough call for her. Because she lost. And I think she knows, she would have lost the election if it was the popular vote. Not just the Electoral College. She couldn't have been nicer. She just said, "Congratulations, Donald. Well done." She's a very strong and very smart lady. She knows I'm about making America great. Very smart. A lot of what was said about her, a lot of that was, I think, incited by the media. She doesn't deserve what Kathy Griffin did to me. Even though she founded ISIS. She doesn't deserve that. Roseanne, OK, maybe Roseanne deserves that. But not Hillary. I'm joking. I haven't talked to her about it, what Kathy Griffin did. But this is a very hard time for me. For me and my family. Barron is only 11. Nobody knew being President could be so complicated. I loved my previous life. I loved my previous life, I had so many things going. This is, actually, is more work than my previous life. I thought it would be easier.
(Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Thursday June 01 2017, @07:55PM
You mean these rules?
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/335915-conservatives-forget-history-with-trump-effigy-outrage [thehill.com]
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Thursday June 01 2017, @10:56PM
Why go to all that trouble to imagine the right acting out, when reality is so close at hand? Just take a look at Ted Nugent's saliva-spewing mouthfarts about Obama and Clinton, or Rush Limbaugh's. Or Fox News' continuous stream of agitprop. Or Trump's campaign remarks vs. crippled reporters, mexicans, etc. Or the behavior of the republican congress over the last nine years or so. What about all those lynching pictures of Obama? The "nigger" remarks? The birtherism mania?
There are few innocents among the right. Not none – but few. Not really inclined to broadly defend the left, either. Plenty done wrong in the name of liberalism. Particularly against the personal and consensual informed choice aspect of liberty, which is probably ironic if you chase word meanings very far. Of course, words... sigh.