Fake news or Alternative Fact?

Over the last couple of years, and in recent weeks especially, the topic of fake news and how credible news sources are has risen. In times where anyone with access to the internet and social media is capable of spreading information whenever they please, the possibilities of misinformation, intentional or otherwise, increase. The whole notion of "fake news" boils down to whether or not false information is intentionally being put out for public consumption. As CNN host Don Lemon puts it "Fake news is when you put out a story to intentionally deceive someone and you know that it is wrong." 

Recently, President Trump has taken to his twitter account to call news sources that are known to criticize him to be "fake news" and "...the enemy of the American People!"

This notion that all news sites that do not agree with President Trump have no credibility and only promote fake news is completely unsupported by facts. A fundamental reason for political news existing is to criticize and call out those in power when their actions are unfavorable to the people they are governing. While mainstream news outlets like CBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox News may all have their own minute forms of bias in their information, that does not diminish the quality of their news or discredit them in any way.

The Trump administration is in no way exempt from the intentional spread of misinformation as they would have you believe. In response to claims about the attendance of the recent presidential inauguration, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe."  After this was proven to be false, Presidential Counselor Kellyanne Conway describes this misinformation as "alternative facts".

Conway's use of the term alternative fact was in her mind an alternate way of saying that Spicer lied in his press conference. Instead of straight up admitting to the falsehood made by her colleague Conway attempted to sugarcoat the transgression as lesser the attention being brought to the recent headline. Her actions however proved to be for not as this only brought more mainstream attention to the matter.


Many people are starting to see that, while President Trump is trying to skew people's view of the mainstream media, people in his own inner circle are guilty of doing the same type of misinformation spread that he is directly condemning. After the whole incident with Conway and her alternative facts, many news organizations have challenged the legitimacy of her statements. Most recently MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski has come out to say that she refuses to book Conway on her show Morning Joe. She is quoted saying "I won't do it, 'cuz I don't believe in fake news or information that is not true. And that is — every time I've ever seen her on television, something’s askew, off or incorrect."

Fake News Fools All Of Us

Schools have always taught students that trusted websites have URL ending in .edu and .gov.
These URLs mean that the link is from an educational and government source.  They are trusted because they are from professional sources who have done their research.

With the growing technology of the 21st century, it's getting harder to recognize fake news. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have been riddled with fake or exaggerated news. The recent election has brought about a lot of fake news regarding each of the candidates.

Ariel Edwards-Levy, staff reporter and polling director at The Huffington Post, writes an article about fake news relating to the recent political race. Levy took a poll of voters who were said to have described something as fake news and who they voted for. According to her poll, the people who voted for Donald Trump had the highest value for saying something, related to the election, was fake news. Levy writes that people could say these sources are fake news because of their personal beliefs. It's also said that people who disagree with others beliefs will be more susceptible to fake news to what they don't believe.

The LA Daily News Editorial board writes an article about how people are easily fooled. Being able to tell the difference between what's true and what's not means the ability to be able to interpret what sources are credible. Most people when they read are reading for what's written and not who has written it. The writer of an article could have forms of bias to them which needs to be taken into consideration. The editorial board writes that kids today might not be so in touch with their political side than those older that them. Those who have a political opinion often bring it into what they write rather than writing for the truth.

In order to stop the spread of fake news and to tell its credibility we need to pay attention to who is writing the article and research more on its topic. If a headline seems fishy, it probably will be, but to be sure keep looking into it. An important way to battle fictional writing is to stay aware of it.

Is Big Brother Back?

Imagine a society dominated and ruled unquestioningly by leaders who wield their destructive power for the “sake of their country.” In horror stories about manipulation and the weakness of man, this theme is not an uncommon one. However, when schemes of achieving absolute power by manipulating citizens and political power jump into the realm of reality, this scenario can quickly lead to terror and rioting. Censored “free speech,” political manipulation, and destructively unlawful actions are just a few of the side-effects of a society ruled by the whims of the few.

Within the last few years, the US media has been riddled with stories of fake news. In the past, fake news was merely a label for news stories that spread untrue or misrepresented tales to the public with the intent to deceive readers and spread a biased message. Now, this phenomenon has found a new host, and has begun to spread like the plague.

In more recent years, a new group of manipulators have jumped into the fray and elevated fakes news into a more powerful position; journalists, political leaders, and hateful individuals have taken the reigns of the fake news caravan with plans of their own – to bend others to their whims and bend the power of news to their benefit.

“Trump Declares ‘Fake News’ Media the ‘Enemy of the American People’,” published by USA Today cites tweets released by Donald Trump which claimed that news networks who shared or reported fake news were not only enemies of Mr. Trump, but they were enemies of the American people. Those who operate like or model themselves after Mr. Trump do not stick to the definition of fake news before they deem information to be fake and spread misinformation or blatant lies as a placeholder.

Similar to Donald Trump, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has jumped into hubbub and created a news section on its website, which highlights news articles that the ministry declares are fake.

“With Big Red Stamp, Russia Singles Out What It Calls ‘Fake’ News,” reports that the websites that were supposedly fake news were marked with a large “FAKE” label and a line that stated that the information the site was sharing “[did] not correspond to reality.”

This is a great example of the flawed philosophy of, “If I do not believe it, then it is not true.”

These are instances that should alert and intrigue those who think critically. Why does the public accept that something is fake without demanding proof from multiple, reputable, and trustworthy sources before taking information to heart?

Now the question is, “How does one resist fake news?”

Luckily, there are a number of methods one can employ to avoid misinformation and the harmful spread of fake news. First, one must approach the subject with an unbiased approach. Find multiple sources that report news from differing viewpoints. For instance, visit websites and read articles that are posted by both conservative and liberal sites. Do not limit yourself to one side of an argument.

“How to Avoid Falling for Lies and Fake News,” approaches the idea of “[looking] beyond your bubble, be curious, and consider the opposite,” when evaluating news stories and crafting an opinion. This is an important step towards eliminating bias and stopping the spread of fake news.

Second, stop reading news on social media sites. Share news responsibly and do research on the information that is being reposted before sharing it with others. “What is Fake News? How to spot it and what you can do to stop it,” published by The Guardian, suggests that readers should, “put in the legwork above, and only post or share stories you know to be true, from sources you know to be responsible.”

Third, when faced with claims of fake news in instances where the information being shared is from reliable sources without the intent to deceive, shut it down. A fine example of this method can be seen in the video below.

The video shows CNN moderator and host, Don Lemon, leading a discussion regarding President Trump’s multiple trips paid for by tax payers, as well as the price of protection the First Family when they travel alongside the president.

“CNN Host Shuts Down Guest for Making ‘Fake News’ Claim,” looks at this exchange between Mr. Lemon and his guest. Author Brook Seipel notes Mr. Lemon’s words in response to accusations that he is participating in the spread of fake news on his program.

In response, Mr. Lemon explains that, "Fake news is when you put out a story to intentionally deceive someone and you know that it is wrong. This story that we’re doing right now is not to intentionally deceive anyone. We are simply talking about the cost to keep a president safe.”

However, their discussion continues to deteriorate to the point of passive aggressive comments and circular arguments. Finally, after attempting to lead the conversation back to the original topic, the guest refuses to drop the “fake news” subject, and Mr. Lemon dismisses the conversation before prematurely ending his segment.

In some cases, this can be seen as an extreme move. However, Mr. Lemon uses the third tactic, mentioned above, to deal with their pointless arguing and move on from the potentially harmful assumptions that could be spurred on by these accusations.

The infinite list of little things one can put into motion to limit the spread of fake news goes on. The third step mentioned above marks a turning point.

“The Massacre That Wasn’t, and a Turning Point for ‘Fake News’,” addresses the unrest and confusion surrounding Kellyanne Conway’s claims of a “Bowling Green Massacre,” stating that “vigilance, and continuing improvements throughout the news business, remain necessary,” to stomp down on fake news claims.

Author of this article, Jim Rutenberg, cites the sudden surge in popularity that George Orwell’s 1989 since the beginning of the US election. This story paints a fascinating story about the growing influence of fake news on the average American. Looking back at it now, fake news has become a way to denounce things that the people in power do not believe in. This misuse of power is being manipulated to discredit others who do not share the views of powerful leaders, and to censor the voices of those who are struggling to speak out against enemies who are incredibly similar to the antagonists or Mr. Orwell’s novel.

But those who evaluate news and decide for themselves what is trustworthy information have already started a new revolution. Big Brother may be back and trying to silence us with cries of fake news, but he has no strength when critical thinking, problem solving, and group cooperation comes into play.

The Spread of Fake News

The spread of fake news is an issue that can't necessarily be stopped. As long as people are believe what they see and hear on the tv, radio, and social media, fake news will continue to be an issue in the world.

So when did fake news come about? And what are the outlets it is using in order to reach people?

 In this article, "What is fake news? Its origins and how it grew in 2016" , writer James Carson states:

"Bending the truth for political gain is certainly nothing new - it’s propaganda, and the record of its uses stretch back to ancient times. Octavian famously used a campaign of disinformation to aid his victory over Marc Anthony in the final war of the Roman Republic."

Carson also provides examples of fake news used in historical presidential elections and politics.

Even though the spread of fake news started in ancient times, it couldn't go as far as it can today. Fake news can now go worldwide in a matter of seconds because of the resources we have available to us these days. Modern technology allows for us to  spread these false stories throughout the world by using internet, radio, and television.

 In NY Times article, "How Fake News Goes Viral: A Case Study" , writer Sapna Maheshwari states:

"false information can arise from misinformed social media posts by regular people that are seized on and spread through a hyper-partisan blogosphere." 

So now we know how fake news is spread and when it started. Hopefully, we can start to separate the fake from the real and bring the spread of false information down.

 

Fake News

I think nowadays it's easier to tell what websites are real and what are fake. The first thing I learned in sixth grade was the url. Sites that have web addresses ending in .gov, .edu, .org, .net or .com are mostly all safe to use. Some .com sites have bad software downloads and pop-ups though. On https://blog.webnames.ca/how-to-determine-if-a-website-is-a-fake-fraud-or-scam/ 

Step number four says to check the WHOIS. I have never heard what WHOIS is or what it does, but according to this article it checks to see who owns the domain and will tell you the registrar.

WHOIS also tells you when the site was created, when it expires, and how long the domain existed. The example this article gives us was a shoe company located in the U.S. They said the domain was owned in China and it has been active for less than a year.

If there is no contact information at the top or bottom of the page it might be a little shady. It looks more professional to have a name, email address, phone number and maybe address of the organization or business. Also watch out for spelling and grammar.

It is most important to check websites if you're ordering something using your credit or debit card. Nobody wants to get their card information stolen. Check the shipping and return policy. Check the domain name and make sure it has an SSL.

Last part is check the other customers review usually located on the bottom of a webpage

Real Vs Fake, Opinion Vs Facts

There are many fake news websites out there. With the use of technology in todays society, people can use there cell phones or tablets to go to there favorite news websites. Now there are many good news websites that you could go to and find good news without biased opinions, and have good facts. But there are many fake biased news websites that people can also go to. Readers tend to find there own, which they relate to more. The infographic shows us what one writer believes which news websites go into which area. She has on the left side the more liberal and the right side more conservative.

One of our class readings that i read was very interesting. Everyone Is Biased And There Is No Reality tried to explain to us why many people have there biased opinions. Maybe they were taught that at a young age. Seeing there parents or friends have that way of thinking could be it. The point I'm trying to make is that people tend to follow people with the same beliefs or same way of thinking. Conservatives would probably follow Fox News while A Liberal would follow The Huffington Post. 
I tried to find current news that was from the three different types. I Followed Votero infographic and visited a Liberal Fake News, a Conservative Fake News, and then a mainstream one that has minimum biased opinion.

I visited AddictingInfo.com and right away you could tell that this was a platform for biased fake news. The way they use there words and capitalize the titles of there news is a prime example. You can tell that they highly favor Liberal views. They also use words that try to influence readers with stereotyping and emotions.

Infowars.com was the same way just from a conservative point. They seem to have a lot of news concerning Donald Trump on all the good he is doing. I tried to find one article that had a different view but i couldn't find one. Using words to make things seem much bigger than what it is.

According to the graph CNN was put in the middle for having minimum biased opinions but many believe otherwise. According to New Chart Tries To Break Down Real And Fake News Outlets — How'd It Do? Isaac Saul seems to believe many people thought CNN got a bad rep for being more liberal and supporting Hillary Clinton this election. Also that infowars is just flat out known for conspiracies instead of facts. The problem with fake news is you have to know for yourself what you are reading. The rationale behind this infographic seems that she was literally trying to help people differ between the biased and fake news.

Resisting Fake News

In todays world, with all of the technology and social media, it is very hard to depict fake news from real news. The reality of this is hard to ignore because people, does not matter the age, are easily fooled by the media and they do not know how to tell if the source is truth worthy or not.  In reality, it is possible to resist fake news if the individual does the research behind the source but most people

do not take that extra step so they fall for fake news. 

There was a study done by Stanford University to back up the " people are easily fooled" statement. The study was done on middle school, high school and college level individuals. The goal of the study was to determine how well these individuals can distinguish the difference between credible information and opinion, advertising or fakes on the internet. The researchers were shocked at the results because of how poor the students did. The result was that the students really struggled on figuring out where the content that they are reading coming from. It was found that more than 80 percent of students failed on distinguishing fake content and real content. " No fooling- fake news is hard to resist".

There are websites that fake news travel faster on than others. Facebook is a huge example on a website that has a lot of news, real or fake, presented on it. According to an article written by Nathan McAlone on the Business Insider website, leading up to the 2016 election, the top fake news on Facebook outperformed real news stories shared by the most popular media companies. The CEO of Facebook was very shocked by that findings and he stated that " the idea that fake news on Facebook- its a very small amount of content- influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea." Facebook admits to resisting standards for fake news was 'wrong'. Facebook is trying to take steps in order to reduce the spread of misinformation on the website but it is going to be hard in order to not take someones freedom of speech rights away. 

It is very hard to resist fake news unless the individual does the research behind the source or looks at other sources to see if the information matches.  There are news all around us in newspapers, TV, magazines, etc. it is hard to get away from that. The way that fake news is presented is also a good way to grab the attention of a potential reader. Resisting fake news is based on the individual it self and what they believe in and the research that they put in into it. 

"Russia is fake news"

https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000004937253/trump-press-conference-russia.html

"Russia is fake news... I have nothing to do with Russia, I have no deals with them." said President Trump. There are many conspiracy theories about the ties between Russian Officials and Donald Trump. The business conspiracy, many American banks wouldn't lend money to Trump, so he borrowed money elsewhere, for instance. Russia.

"Russia makes up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets" said Donald Trump in 2008.

The assumption that Trump has Russian business ties hidden is exponentially growing, especially on social media websites like Twitter.

             

Donald Trump could disperse this issue by releasing his tax returns. The social media site SnapChat has a subscription open to the public called the Presidents Day Protests. There are many photos during the protest posted on SnapChat. One of the photos is about the current debate about Russia ties and Trump.

Some people believe Trump's campaign advisers spoke with Putin and Russian Officials during the campaign. The New York Times and CNN published Trump had "constant Contact" with Russian operatives before the election. Trump repeatedly declared the ties with Russia are nonexistent. "To the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with had contacts with Russia during the campaign" said Trump". " I have nothing to do with Russia. Haven't made a phone call to Russia in years. Don't speak to people from Russia. Not that I wouldn't. I just have nobody to speak to. I spoke to Putin twice. He called me on the day of the election. And he called me on the inauguration, a few days ago." The president claims the media is making up news to hurt his image, stating "The press has become so dishonest" "The leaks are real, the news is fake."

Is it fake news like Donald Trump claims or are the rumors true?

Fake news?

Extra! Extra! Read all about! Since ancient times information has spread worldwide through mass communication. In Ancient Greece, philosophers called Sophists believed in educating the youth for money. This type of philosophy is still used today, writers use eye-catching headlines to promote views for money. These writers aren't educating people they're simply manipulating readers for more clicks. For example, Goldman and Wade purposely fool their viewers to make more cash.



"FBI AGENT SUSPECTED IN HILLARY EMAIL LEAKS FOUND DEAD IN APARTMENT MURDER-SUICIDE."[1]



This headline is a prime example of fake news. Fake news is nothing new, it can spread quickly causing misinformation. Publishers create articles that look legit to manipulate the audience into believing it is "real news". Often writers twist what has been said.



Fake news in growing exponentially, this is becoming a major issue today. According to a Stanford study, “only 25% of high school students were able to distinguish fake news compared to accurate news stories”. [2] Students also had trouble determining the realness in pictures.

The publication of an article is an easy way to determine seriousness of its integrity.

              To determine the realness of a news article, use the five-c’s method:

1.Context- Look at the context of the article. When was, this article written?

2. Credibility- Does the site have a good reputation? Does the author site credible sources?

3. Construction- Analyze the framework of the source. Disguise between facts and opinions.

4. Corroboration- Compare the information to other creditable news sources. Is their more than one source to support its claim?

5. Compare- Compare news to other news to eliminate a bias perspective.

However, fake news isn’t going away anytime soon. So, it is important to use critical thinking skills to determine the credibility of a news source. Research the political news spectrum to create a bigger picture.

References:
[1] https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=43d_1478437128&comments=1
[2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdmPhjRhoSc

Modern uses of Yellow Journalism By Hayden Rutherford

Yellow Journalism is by no means a new development in modern forms of media like the articles Paris Wade and Ben Goldman produce for their website. In fact, the term yellow journalism predates the internet, and goes as far back as the 1800's, during the time where people's primary news source was newspapers. The phenomenon of yellow journalism has begun to creep up again in digital forms of media, because of how easy it is for someone to put their work into the open air. Any person with access to the internet can put out their views, no matter how biased they are, and present those views as fact.

In the case of Wade and Goldman, the pair produce content for their website LibertyWritersNews.com, where they are given free rein to produce whatever content they see fit. In the article by Terrence McCoy, when asked if he would like to publish works that he believes in, Wade replies with “In a perfect world”. This shows that the author acknowledges the fact that the content that he is putting out isn’t being held with high standards for him. His motivation for writing his short-sensationalized articles instead of ones that require time and thought is “because no one would click on it, so what would be the point?”

The goal for what Wade and Goldman isn’t to produce content of quality, but to produce content that grabs the attention of a specific audience and gets them to click on their articles. The more clicks the article gets, the more money they are able to make off it. Using emboldened headlines such as “THE TRUTH IS OUT! The Media Doesn’t Want You To See What Hillary Did After Losing...” and “CAN’T TRUST OBAMA, Look At Sick Thing He Just Did To STAB Trump In The Back…”, Wade and Goldman are able to capture the attention of their niche audience and convince them to click on their articles. The more that Wade and Goldman are able to make their headlines stick out, the more likely people are going to want to click on their articles and assess the content for themselves.

While most people would see these headlines and think that they are too outlandish for their content to be of any substance, Wade and Goldman aren’t writing their articles for them. Their articles are written for the people who don’t take in information with a grain of salt and will click on the most exciting headline they see. The reason that the people who read their articles believe so hard in them is because Wade and Goldman know what kind of audience they are writing for and are able to sensationalize the headlines and articles to appease them. Their true focus group is people who don’t take the time to analyze headlines for what they really are, which is bait to get them to click on it.

Yellow Journalism

Sean Cosgrove

When I first read the article about some of these "new yellow journalists", I had no idea what yellow journalism was. I have read plenty of newspaper articles and even web articles. I knew something was off with these articles when they seemed so biased and didn't really state the facts. Now I understand the concept after reading Paris Wade and Ben Goldman's article. With fakes news and social media playing such a big role in the world today, people are believing anything that they read. It could be the concept of "you only hear what you to, kind of thing. The majority of people who were commenting on there post were conservatives and you could tell that these two authors were enjoying it. There way of getting more and more to read is their way of feeding their audience.

Today technology is so important to the average person and with phones we can catch the most updated news right on our cell phones. One can go to can.com or even check on Facebook and see the latest news. One of your 1000 friends or followers are probably even talking about it. The thing with yellow journalism is that is can be very biased. Some of the facts that really make a story true are not there. In class we even talked about the difference between the Washington post and Washington times, one being more conservative and the other being more liberal. Yellow journalism even played a big role on our election this year but thats just my opinion. So much fake news was going around that it was hard to believe what was actually real.

Yellow journalism has been around for a long time. This picture above was taken during WW1. The man blindfolded was said to be a spy that was caught. Truthfully is was all set up by a photographer who during the war had taken many photos that were staged. It also was said that he himself was posing as the captured while another person took the photo. The real story behind this photo tells more detail about how long "fake news" has been going on.

The best thing that we can do is to notice real from fake. Its harder then what people may think and with everyone being biased in their own way, it will only get harder. My mind has been made up from the facts that if reporters were doing things like staging fake photos in WW1, then the more advance we get, the more advance these fake reporters get.

The Truth Behind Fake News

"The Yellow Kid" by R.F. Outcault

Fake news can start with creative titles to draw in their readers. This causes them to want to know more and then start reading and begin to believe it even though it's fake. It is with most cases too that they read it because they want it to be true. Yellow journalists know what the people really want to hear even it's not the truth. They aim to please the reader so that they will gain more money and write more stories.

Researchers at the University of Florida stated that yellow journalism first began with two writers named William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer II. These two were in a battle for the best newspaper during the 1890's . Pulitzer came up with the idea to create a cartoon for his newspaper named "The Yellow Kid". His newspaper then became very popular among the public, and this got Hearst to think of ways to to make his just as popular. Hearst then offered a huge salary for the cartoonist that drew "The Yellow Kid" for Pulitzer and he had it embedded in his newspaper. This created an ongoing feud with the two writers, and ultimately led to them printing outrageous titles and over-dramatized articles in order to gain popularity with the public.

Terrance McCoy, writer for the Washington Post, writes about two men, Paris Wade and Ben Goldman, who post alarming titles with false or biased articles linked to them on their blog, just as Pulitzer and Hearst first did with their newspapers. One of their titles was "THE TRUTH IS OUT! The Media Doesn't Want You To See What Hillary Did After Loosing...". This kind of title causes people to click and read more. Wade and Goldman wrote with a biased view in order to tell readers what they wanted to hear rather than the truth. The goal was to gain enough viewers in order to collect money. With every click to their blog there was more money in their pockets.

According to The New York Times' Sabrina Taverenise, fake news leads people to doubt articles even when they are true, yet they read them anyways to provide a 'good feeling'. It is even more of a problem when people start forming their beliefs around the fictional stories they read. The article defines fake news as "... a made-up story with an intention to deceive, often geared toward getting clicks". In the recent year fake news has been targeted towards political issues. The latest election has gotten many fictional articles to come out and many believe them. "The online content can be frustrating, with headlines that promise more than the stories deliver".

To find out just what kind of impact fake news had on the public during the 2016 election, Robert Siegel, National Public Radio host, talks to economist Matthew Gentzkow who calculated the results. It was said in the interview that in order for one false story to persuade a person to vote one way or the other it would be the same as watching 36 TV commercials. Even with these numbers it seems as though people are persuaded easily if it pertains to their opinion.

All of this research has a couple things in common. Yellow journalism was used by creating false headlines to gain readers and more money. This causes false news to be reported just for popularity of the article. Fake new is hard to interpret and therefore harder to know what is fictional and what is not. Journalists often do this in order to tell the public what they want to hear, but sometimes it's not always comforting.

Yellow Journalism Blog 1

I think one of the things that motivates yellow journalists is, especially Wade and Goldman from the article, is money. They started off as being poor teenagers and then they started to write false news and the money began to come in. I think that they do not really care if the news is true or not, as long as they are getting paid. Another thing that I believe motivates them is the response that they receive from web readers. Their goal is to get people to wind up about a specific topic and for them to have a huge reaction towards it. In todays world, most of the information that people get is from the internet. I think that people believe what yellow journalists write about is because if it goes with their mind sets and their beliefs. It basically makes their opinion stronger since they know someone else agrees with them. People now a days believe anything they read online, no matter who says it. Yellow Journalism is very widespread, not just on the internet. One huge example of yellow journalism is tabloids. They write in magazines and the way they attract readers is by making cover pages colorful and using big texts and writing about scandalous claims within the celebrities.  Although yellow journalism has changed since it began, it will always be around.

Fake News: What's the big idea?

Written By: Melina A. Gray

In the article written by Terence McCoy, “For the ‘New Yellow Journalists,’ Opportunity Comes in Clicks and Bucks,” two young men, Wade and Goldman, put into perspective what Yellow Journalism is. The two young authors say that their mission with their blog is to get rid of bias. However, reading through the article, everything Wade and Goldman write seems to have some form of bias entwined in it.[1]

This idea of “Fake News” is not a new one. For many years’ writers, reporters, paparazzi, etc., have been creating fake stories and selling it to anyone who will listen. According to Courtney DuChene in “Is Fake News the 2016 Version of Yellow Journalism,” the talk about “fake news” flared back up during the 2016 election cycle.[2] President Donald Trump recently made a statement about the topic during one of his press conferences saying, “The press has become so dishonest that if we don't talk about it, we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people…The level of dishonesty is out of control.”[3] 

When a world leader criticizes the press as consistently as Trump does, the public will do either one of two things: start questioning everything the press says until that leader validates it, to start calling the leader out and questioning that individual. This more than likely makes even real news, look fake and unreliable to the public. 

So now that “Fake News” is being brought to the light, what exactly is it? Why are people creating/spreading it? What is their motivation? And why are we listening to it and believing it?

According to BBC in their article, “Fake news: What is it? And how to spot it,” “Fake news is news or stories on the internet that are not true.” The question that probably arises in your head is, “How can we stop the spread of fake news?” Well. The answer is, you need to ask yourself these questions before you hit the “share” button or make your mind up that it is true.[4]

Now that we know what fake news is, we can answer the next questions. Why are people spreading it? What is their motivation? And what should happen when someone says that a news story is fake, but it really isn't? 

Going off everything I have researched; I’ve concluded that a yellow journalists’ motivation is to attract readers and gain popularity by telling the audience what they want to hear. Yellow Journalists’ want attention, and ultimately money, and they have created a way to get that without having to work too hard for it.

When someone gives a fake cry of fake news, the reader or listener should verify for themselves that it is fake by doing research of their own online and making sure their research and sources are credible. As for why the people are believing and listening to news that is not reliable, I believe that it is because we are biased. We listen to and believe what we want. It doesn’t have to be true, because at the end of the day, it is what we want to hear. This does not go for everybody though. There are some people that want to get to the truth and eliminate the lies, and I commend those people.