Just out of curiosity, for those who frequently contend that many of the news stories being reported are "fake news", what are the sources for most of these stories?
Is it the internet, specific news outlets, newspapers, where exactly are you seeing these stories coming from?
6
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I blame Facebook for this. I always point my friends who believe half the crap they post to Snopes.com to get their clarification. Snopes is great at correcting ridiculous myths and fake news.
ArthurPhillips
Level 6
Apr 18, 2018
1
There are ay number of charts you can Google that will have breakdowns by bias and political leaning. Someone posted one on here awhile back. As Piece2YourPuzzle (member) posted below, anything 45 perceives as unfavorable to him is "fake news," most often that is CNN, he hates CNN. But he has made that comment about MSNBC and other outlets also.
For real shit news and commentary, of course, there's Faux News, Breibart, et al.
I like to watch The Young Turks and David Pakman on YouTube. BBC. N.Y. Times, A.P., and Reuters are good legit news sources. Huffington Post is pretty left-biased. The Washington Post is owned by Jeff Bezos, and 45 hates him/them, too.
Condor5
Level 8
Apr 17, 2018
3
Esquire...
BucketlistBob
Level 8
Apr 17, 2018
2
@LetzGetReal. Well hell.... that ain't it. I was trying to think of one of those cheesy magazines at the check out stand.
Good question if we are to believe news outlets. I understand most news outlets like The NY Times and Wash. Post, triple check news stories and do not publish without verification, I read, listen and watch several news channels every evening, usually NBC, Fox, and CNN. Plus I read local paper and USA Today. I think it is a mistake to believe any single source.
Cgosling
Level 4
Apr 17, 2018
4
Probably somewhere like Breitbart or FOX News. Trump likes to call anything not favorable to him fake news. It's usually a right wing source.
Piece2YourPuzzle
Level 8
Apr 17, 2018
3
Breitbart, Fox, Infowars (if that can be called news), The Drudge Report; all right wing or alt-right, generally pro-trump sources. But now shit-for-brains seems to have pissed off Alex Jones (Infowars) by bombing Syria.
@Condor5 I think Alex Jones is pissed off because bombing Syria plays along with the establishment goal of cutting into Russia's oil market in Europe, and Jones and all of Trump's supporters felt he was anti-establishment and "for the people". The billionaire businessman being anti-establishment and for the people? Lol
@Piece2YourPuzzle I think you are probably right on there. Do you ever watch The Young Turks? Cenk Uyegar has some quite interesting pieces on that whole Jones meltdown. It's pretty funny. 45 is for himself period, end of story.
@Condor5 I'm a regular viewer of The Young Turks. 6-8pm every day. I missed the last couple of days though.
@Piece2YourPuzzle you can catch past airings on YouTube, that's where I watch it.
The first filter is common sense if it sounds absurd there's a good chance it is (Pizza Gate, for example) I also research anything I want to share because the easiest way to get someone to believe a lie is tell them one they want to believe.
When sourcing stories look for obvious signs:
No credited source.
Nameless experts or experts who can't be googled
Only one outlet carrying the story
There are others, I like to Google the origin when it's available and if it's a website I can gage its reliability by looking over the general tone of the site.
JimG
Level 8
Apr 17, 2018
3
Miss information wildfire. There are many reasons, some people make mistakes or have no clue and they spread what they think believing they are intelligent, some spread propaganda even without out realising it in some cases, some are mischievious, some are cunning, fopr some it is a game, to see how far it spreads and how many people report their creation back to them.
Rugglesby
Level 8
Apr 17, 2018
3
I've reached the point that I think nearly everything reported by any source is suspect.
I don't watch tv, rarely listen to radio news, and view any post on intrawebz as out to sway opinion.. Propaganda is a fine art and some are very adept at it.
Slappy_Longarms
Level 7
Apr 17, 2018
2
Are you unable to tell the difference between propaganda and facts? How do you stay informed?
Not much to stay informed of really.
The names change but the Game is the same.
Anything truly important has a way of getting through - I do talk with people.
Probably like "ambulance chasers" only in media form. I call it the Plebeian Press. Someone pays someone for a supposed story and the story snowballs into a web of deceit to put that drool element that sells itself to the learned helpless population that knowingly doesn't fact check.
I will say though, it is mildly entertaining to see how many jump on board, but also, disturbing.
MyLiege
Level 7
Apr 17, 2018
4
I'm more disturbed by it than anything.
When Ronan Farrow started his reporting on Harvey Weinstein's victims, and the #MeToo movement, a lot of people attacked him, and those who came forward. They tried to say none of it was true. They tried saying Farrow was a hack, and not a "real" journalist. Farrow just received a Pulitzer for that reporting.
People are still saying the 45 is the victim of a vast conspiracy. Yet, his personal attorney, his 'fixer', is under criminal investigation. The reporting has been accurate.
His supporters are just in denial, because he's been telling them to be.
@KKGator agreed. I wonder if the people trying to attack the survivors (victims) have never had such an occurrence, or known anyone personally to have had that happen--that statistically, seems unrealistic to be the case, in my opinion. Good for Farrow. People are going to believe who and what they want, even a giant orange turd that talks. Oops, I mean, even a self-righteous, indignant "pussy grabbing" president. Oops, I mean, even a leader of a country that makes fun of the handicapable. My bad, I mean, even a poster child for a clinically undiagnosed Narcissist chairman of the board. Or perhaps I mean, even a "World Leader" that turns his back on a territory he governs that STILL needs recovery help from a hurricane almost a year ago.
So, yeah. I agree with you.
Did someone say "Fake news" to you? Because we will dogpile on that person for you.
(I hate that term).
RavenCT
Level 9
Apr 17, 2018
2
Not specifically. I'm just so tired of hearing it. It's become an excuse not to believe anything you don't like, particularly when it's the truth.
Alternative facts?
I think the people reporting pretend it is real so to them it must be real. If they can twist it around to sound like how you want to hear it just think how good of a defence lawyer they could make.
azzow2
Level 9
Apr 17, 2018
2
I'm finding that those who are "reporting" false (or more sensational) stories are generally not actual journalists. They are primarily on the internet, making shit up to suit their agendas.
Actual journalists are reporting on actual stories, based in fact. That's why sources matter.
Paul628
Level 8
Apr 17, 2018
10
That's an interesting chart. Where did you find that?
@WizardBill Yea it's not perfect but it's the best one I've seen. There a lot of them out there.
Some are wildly off.
Looks accurate, but I wonder if this Vanessa Otero is an unbiased objective source? Is this a personal opinion of hers? Does the fact that she says she is a patent lawyer hold any weight in this chart? 
Just saying.
@LucifersPen I've had it for a while, I think I just Googled media outlet bias or something like that. I know there were a lot of them to choose from.
@Paul628 Whenever I come across a questionable source, I run it through [mediabiasfactcheck.com] to know where it is coming from. They lay out how they arrive at their conclusions.
Information like this is crucial in today's environment. I admit to watching a lot of CNN, but I also realize what their weakness is too. I always backup my facts by relying on NYTimes and WaPo.
@LucifersPen Yes, I've used that site. They're accurate but a longer read. The chart is easy to read at a glance and fairly accurate. If the chart has a source that seems out of place it can be double checked without much trouble at mediabiasfactcheck.com
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