back to article Newspaper kills 'what was fake' column as pointless in internet age

In a sign that the internet is indeed the end of all good and rational thoughts, The Washington Post has thrown in the towel on its "What was fake on the Internet this week" column. In what it said would be its final column Friday, columnist Caitlin Dewey revealed that, as with many things online these days, the internet has …

  1. IT Hack

    If its on the internet...

    yeah...that

    Not just a smart arse saying but very much a needed default setting. And even then I was duped several times this year with click bait.

    Frankly the behaviour is no better than spammers. Who frankly have the morals of someone with no morals.

    1. Pompous Git Silver badge

      Re: If its on the internet...

      Sounds like the unofficial news sources are now just as bad as the official ones. The horror of it all!

      1. Chemist

        Re: If its on the internet...

        "Sounds like the unofficial news sources are now just as bad as the official ones. The horror of it all!"

        I think the 'official' news sources seem to be getting worse - maybe reflecting less rigorous research or lack of knowledge/skepticism. Certainly some of time that they report areas of which I have in-depth knowledge the ignorance displayed can be breathtaking. Of course then cut-and-paste journalism multiplies the errors rapidly.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: If its on the internet...

          Have you seen the BBC News website lately? I have not, it seems to have been replaced by a click bait aggregator.

          1. Roq D. Kasba

            Re: If its on the internet...

            Xenophobic click bait enraging their readers stereotypes - hadn't this been The Daily Mail since conception?

          2. TheProf

            Re: If its on the internet...

            "Have you seen the BBC News website lately?"

            You beat me to the punch. I used to have the BBC as my home page. Not any more.

          3. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: If its on the internet...

            I thought you might be exaggerating about the BBC being a click bait aggregator, but I've just checked and the current headlines include:

            The Christmas cards that shocked the web

            Which sport suits your personality? Take the test

            You won't believe what year this photo was taken in

            1. Patrician

              Re: If its on the internet...

              I'm not sure which page of the BBC News site you looked at but, currently the headlines are as follows:-

              Blatter and Platini get lengthy bans

              Divided Spain faces coalition struggle

              BBC to end Formula 1 television contract early

              Dozens missing in China landslide

              Miss Universe crowns wrong winner

              Police fear capture in Taliban siege

              Tim Peake assists with space walk

              No click bait there ....

          4. JLV

            Re: If its on the internet...

            Yeah, don't get it. Why does the beeb use Outbrain to post links to its own internal stories? Makes no sense and it is a brand killer, imho. I mean, I am sure they are making $ at it, short term. But the clickbait crowd is the antithesis of trustworthy news, so is it worth it to tarnish your site? Even more ads are a better choice. Otherwise, yes, you'll find viewers leaving little by little. But more slowly than your revenue boost which will keep you from jumping out of that boiling water. And nice bonuses for the biz dev execs who will be long by the time things sour up.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: If its on the internet...

              I think of the internet (for the more sensational stuff anyway) as an enormous version of the 'Sunday Sport' newspaper.

            2. PNGuinn
              FAIL

              The Beeb

              "But the clickbait crowd is the antithesis of trustworthy news"

              These days the BBC is the antithesis of trustworthy news.

              FIFY.

          5. Simon Harris

            Re: If its on the internet...

            "Have you seen the BBC News website lately?"

            I usually start with The Daily Mash, and then try to find out what news story they're talking about.

        2. Hargrove

          Re: If its on the internet...

          "@chen "it seems to be getting worse, , ,""

          The Internet and popular media are trivial in comparison to what is occurring in government, particularly in the US and UK, where we have all lost our abilities to think critically about anything.

          Whether something is right or true--in the sense that those terms are used in math and formal logic--has become completely irrelevant. Perception is reality.

          Unfortunately, those who govern in our respective countries have spent the last half century (at a markedly accelerated pace since 2011) crafting laws and regulations to create the perception of doing something, to no practical benefit for anyone except a select set of fiancial interests that perpetuate their power.

          The standard response of those who govern, one I encounter almost daily in my profession is, "We know what we have is wrong, but we have to do something." Perhaps, But does it always have to be somethng abysmally stupid to the detriment of the ordinary citizen who are the productive lifeblood of our countries and for the financial gain of those who produce nothing.

          Consider this. . . In the years after WWII several generations of Americans spent their lives producing goods and services of value and saved to accumulate wealth. Those who govern and the money-changers have rigged the system so that, for the last full decade, they have essentially paid those who earned the wealth essentially nothing (less that a percent) for use of their savings. At the same time through bewildering array of arcane practices, deliberately enabled by legislation, they demand exorbitant rates for the consumers, use of money. And this depite the fact that information technology has drastically cut the operating costs in the insurance and financial industry.

          Let's call it what it is--government sponsored greed, fraud, and abuse on an incomprehensible scale. For the common good, we, the people, need to wrap our minds around the problem and give it some critical thought.

          1. PNGuinn
            Happy

            Re: If its on the internet...

            "The Internet and popular media are trivial in comparison to what is occurring in government, particularly in the US and UK, where we have all lost our abilities to think critically about anything."

            And that, my dear Hargrove is the root of the problem. Or perhaps that we have ceased to care about critical thinking at all. Our educational system certainly does not encourage it.

            It's one of the reasons I hang around here. There's always someone who'll challenge an opinion or bring a correction. Some of the threads are extremely informative. Often with very useful references.

          2. Pompous Git Silver badge

            Re: If its on the internet...

            The Internet and popular media are trivial in comparison to what is occurring in government, particularly in the US and UK, where we have all lost our abilities to think critically about anything.

            What makes you think Australian government is any better? Or are we just... so forgettable? ;-)

    2. WalterAlter
      Pint

      What's the big deal?

      Looks like one news format is successfully and profitably making the change over to the Internet - tabloid news. Used to be able to kill supermarket check out time reading about how Elvis was dating a two headed Hitler after his sex change operation in Paraguay. Now it's all holiday decorations on a ten cent budget or coping with alzheimer's in someone else's family. I think an easy million could be made from a website called "Trailer Park". I'll let your imagination fill in the content, but if it contains stuff like loading your own 12 gauge shells with tetanus infected thumb tacks or how to do a bacteria count on that road kill possum, you could be the CEO. The saving grace is that stupidity will express itself orders of magnitudes faster in the electronic age and begin to eat away at what really ails the world - data uptake lag time.

  2. Captain DaFt

    Should've just changed the format

    "What's True On Social Media This Week" would've been a much smaller and easier to manage format.

    1. Grikath

      Re: Should've just changed the format

      That would mean he'd have to dismiss most of his Editors' spin on Current Affairs as well.... Not really a career move..

      Rock, Hard Place..

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Should've just changed the format

      ah, but then the "what's true" column would be quickly filled with news from "business partners".

  3. Herby

    Maybe...

    They should have a "What was real" column. It might be shorter!

    I could easily classify this as a joke, but it is likely true. Of course, this does not count El Reg's great content which is quite good (and very real).

    1. Primus Secundus Tertius

      Re: Maybe...

      @Herby

      I have come to rely on El Reg and The Onion (America's finest news source). The O is unrivalled for its truthful depiction of human weaknesses, even if the circumstances have been changed to protect the facts.

      Mind you, the Vice-President of the United States, whoever he may be, gets a terrible press.

      1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

        Re: Maybe...

        El Reg and The Mash.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ""Since early 2014, a series of Internet entrepreneurs have realized that not much drives traffic as effectively as stories that vindicate and/or inflame the biases of their readers."

    See also: gawker, buzzfeed et al

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      ""Since early 1614, a series of entrepreneurs have realized that not much drives traffic as effectively as stories that vindicate and/or inflame the biases of their readers."

      Fixed that.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "Since early 10,000 BC, a series of entrepreneurs have realized that not much drives traffic as effectively as stories that vindicate and/or inflame the biases of their readers."

        Fixed that.

        1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

          Yeah but can I have some witch burning later this week?

          1. The First Dave

            Yes, you probably will.

  5. Barry Rueger

    MSM can Blame Themselves

    I'm astonished how "reputable" media web sites sell a big chunk of real estate (usually below the story copy, but above the comments section) to those annoying clickbait ad blocks.

    "You won't believe..." "Ten most outrageous...." etc.

    Do these people not realize that this devalues everything that they publish?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: MSM can Blame Themselves

      Seeing those blocks immediately adds THAT site to my BLOCK list. Jus' seyin'

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: MSM can Blame Themselves

      "Do these people not realize that this devalues everything that they publish?"

      Do they care? They care about the bottom line, and if it's not affected, anything goes to increase it.

    3. Nick Ryan Silver badge

      Re: MSM can Blame Themselves

      Do these people not realize that this devalues everything that they publish?

      No, because they are absolute morons(*). Any little extra bit of cash dredged in, no matter the source, is considered a "good thing". Very similar to the morons who think that having placing adverts on your own company's website is a good thing (unless that's the business you're in of course).

      * Only outclassed on the level of being a moron by those that believe any of these "stories". Unfortunately repetition is a key part of brainwashing and the more that the gullible see these "stories" and see them repeated on other websites the more they believe them.

      1. Terry 6 Silver badge

        Re: MSM can Blame Themselves

        IMHO this is still the same issue as in the Outsourcing article on these pages. It's all Gresham's Law in that sense.

        Newspapers and web sites owned by ( often large) companies managed by bean counters.

        A paper ( or web site) is here to make money, so who cares what's in it as long as it attracts the $$

        So, proper journalists cost money. Why pay for them when they can get "news" cheaply by feeding off the social media.

        And as advertising is the income source why bother to have proper stories when you can attract revenue with click bait.

        It's not a new story either. When I was a kid most of my school friends went into apprenticeships with local industries. Then the beancounters started to work out that it was cheaper to not train new skilled staff and just lure them away when they had qualified. Companies that invested good money in training apprentices just saw it being leached away. So they stopped too.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Windows

    There will be a re-adjustment (hopefully)

    Times, they are a changing even as we speak. Things are moving rather quicker nowadays than they used to. When I was a lad you had these odd things called newspapers which told you what was what. You had (UK) the "broadsheets" like the Times and Telegraph to the Right and the Grauniad err Guardian to the Left - huge things with about A2 sized spread. Then you had the "red tops" like the Sun, Mirror, Star - smaller, flexible political allegiance, more tits and some seriously memorable headlines. There were others but I wont bore you with that. I will mention that the BBC, ITV and eventually C4 (wow: a fourth channel!) did serious news on the telly.

    Fleet Street moved to Wapping, the internet appeared, broadsheets shrank, the Independent appeared and the world went barking mad (not necessarily in that order and frankly the world has always been a bit odd)

    Now, we still have many of the above and everyone and their dog getting a voice, which is nice. I suspect <engage crystal ball> that the format we are using here and now will be the eventual ubiquitous model for news dispersal and it will involve payment via ads. You and I both know how people work and they will not pay a sub for something like the Times .... or will they?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: There will be a re-adjustment (hopefully)

      No, it will just get worse. As the Reg article jokingly (?) suggests, people stop caring if it's "real" and just remember it's on FB and it matches their desires.

      1. Rol

        Re: There will be a re-adjustment (hopefully)

        A white list experience, will probably be the future for many users. With only accredited, script free sites getting onto the list, or perhaps, a heavily censured portal.

        And, in the very way terrorists have impacted on our freedom, so too, will the hackers and net abusers drive legislation to seriously limit how we use the internet.

        In my mind, the real internet terrorists are the ones forever pushing the boundaries of the interactive experience, adding ever more potential attack vectors to formats that where once just plain text or a compressed image. It's almost as though they are vying for such anarchy, so that a "white knight" can legitimately step in, and ultimately return thought control, back into the hands of the state.

        1. Dave 126 Silver badge

          Re: There will be a re-adjustment (hopefully)

          >A white list experience, will probably be the future for many users. With only accredited, script free sites getting onto the list, or perhaps, a heavily censured portal.

          "a heavily censured portal." - effectively this describes paid magazine apps, especially on Apple platforms. I haven't been keeping abreast of how well this working financially for publishers.

          Generally, the paying consumer gets less trash, but this is by no means guarenteed - 'paid for' dead-tree newspapers like the Telegraph have been naughty in letting their content be influenced by wider business concerns. What is my source for this accusation? Why, Private Eye, a 'paid for' dead tree-only magazine.

  7. Graham Marsden
    Unhappy

    "fake news has taken on a much more unpleasant tone...

    "...with people creating fake news stories in order to reflect their own hatred and prejudices."

    Or even taking deliberate spoofs ( eg the fake video clip which intentionally took quotes from Obama and made it sound as if he was admitting that he wasn't an American citizen) and stripping out the bit at the beginning making it clear that it's not real, simply because it fits their political biases and they want others to believe that it's real.

    Unfortunately too many people are willing to "like" and "share" such things without even bothering to apply the slightest critical thought to whether it is real or not :-(

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: "fake news has taken on a much more unpleasant tone...

      Yep, the old 'echo chamber' effect. It can happen anywhere, even on the Reg at times.

      I once had a thought pop into my head - a 'Siamese twin' of a newspaper, with two editors (one of a Guardian persuasion, for example, the other more Daily Mail) and two versions of each story, side by side. By being 'joined at the hip', contested issues *might* be thrashed out more intelligently. Maybe. Just an idle idea.

      1. Primus Secundus Tertius

        Re: "fake news has taken on a much more unpleasant tone...

        @Dave126

        When Rome was a republic it was governed by two consuls. Sometimes one would handle Monday, Wednesday, Friday... Sunday could be left to the priests.

        Newspapers whould be run in this way, the Guardiagraph one day refuting what the Teledian published the day before. Sunday could become a big day for El Reg.

        1. JLV

          Re: "fake news has taken on a much more unpleasant tone...

          When Rome was a Republic, Legions were often led that way as well. Two consuls, alternating, day by day.. Didn't often work out well during 2nd Punic War ;-)

  8. Grikath

    There's the problem....

    "But there have been many, many other fake news stories, and Dewey reckons it's because they have become profitable."

    It's all about generating traffic, and exposing people to ad imprints on their driveby's. With the way internet advertising works Traffic = KaChing! , for relatively little work, given the fact that most of those sites work on the same template as the old porn lists/aggregators.

    The Ad Men don't care. Their business is to sell FakeBelieve, and they'll get their percentage either way.

    1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      Re: There's the problem....

      It won't remain profitable for ever. Eventually even the dumb-fucks who pay silly money to ad agencies will realise that there is no such thing as internet advertising. Once that happens, there is no longer such a thing as clickbait.

      Ads on telly? Yes, you had a captive audience. If you made a good ad, people would remember.

      Ads in the high street? Yes, people would pass the same ads every day and if they were any good and there was a hold-up on the road then they might actually bother to read them.

      Ads on the web? Sorry, you've lost me there.

      1. Naughtyhorse

        Re: There's the problem....

        There's ads... on the web?

      2. Michael Thibault
        Megaphone

        Re: There's the problem....

        'Ads in the high street? Yes, people would pass the same ads every day, or the ads would pass them periodically, and if the ads were any good and there was a hold-up on the road then people might actually bother to read them.'

        FTFY. Used to occasionally see flat-bed trucks hauling billboards (hoardings?) around town here--basically, print adverts, with lighting embedded in the outside edge of the bed. Tonight I saw a truck--a cube-van, I think it's called--plying the streets sporting backlit adverts on (at least) three sides of the cargo volume. Static images, so far--no video, no loud-hailers/speakers. But that's coming. I was immediately put in mind of the possibility of having the surfaces of the street itself become a medium, one onto which images and video could be projected from buildings (rooftops, windows, and so forth), with due account for keystoning and other optical considerations. That's a lot of column inches to consider. And it's all free, or nearly so. It just needs an Uber-treatment. Kidding!

      3. Voland's right hand Silver badge

        Re: There's the problem....

        Ads in the high street? Yes, people would pass the same ads every day and if they were any good and there was a hold-up on the road then they might actually bother to read them.

        That depends. Sometimes ignoring them is rather difficult. Try driving behind THIS and ignorig it. Translation "The Milk is Here, Home Delivery of Dairy Products".

        1. werdsmith Silver badge

          Re: There's the problem....

          The trouble with those kind of attention grabbing ads, you don't necessarily notice who or what is being advertised.

    2. Bernard M. Orwell

      Re: There's the problem....

      "The Ad Men don't care. Their business is to sell FakeBelieve, and they'll get their percentage either way."

      ...and one day the AdMen will realise we don't give two figs for advertisements and the entire internet will collapse under its own weight. They assume that we are the "Product" by consuming ads, but there's no real product here, nothing is made, no cash changes hands in any realistic manner.

      It's only a matter of time.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Soup

    In related news, The Soup, an American television show which showed clips from reality shows and snarkily commented on them, has also been cancelled, probably (the suits haven't spoken on it) for much the same reason.

  10. Gene Cash Silver badge
    Unhappy

    In unrelated news...

    What the HELL is going on in that header picture? I'm going to have problems sleeping tonight...

    1. Pliny the Whiner

      Re: In unrelated news...

      "What the HELL is going on in that header picture? I'm going to have problems sleeping tonight..."

      That's high-technology medicine, baby. Welcome to the future.

    2. Jonathan Richards 1

      Re: In unrelated news...

      What the hell is going on ...?

      Reading the page source, one finds that the image is called 'bergonic chair.jpg'. Searching for "bergonic chair" leads me to the Otis Historical Archives National Museum of Health and Medicine Flickr stream where, lo! the same image reposes.

      I then observe that it's got a CC-BY license, which means El Reg should already have given you this information:

      Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

      1. Chris Miller
        Facepalm

        Re: In unrelated news...

        And (irrelevantly to this article) it looks like flickr (where the image ultimately sits) has forgotten to renew their HTTPS certificate, which expired yesterday.

        [Updated - seconds later it's OK, maybe a transient issue? But the current cert is valid from 16 December.]

      2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: In unrelated news...

        "Reading the page source, one finds that the image is called 'bergonic chair.jpg'. "

        Maybe El Reg could, you know, accept that there are laws on accessibility and put some alt tags on the images, then for those odd times we want to find out what an image is a simple mouse hover would display a pop-up with the relevant info. And as an incidental bonus make for a slightly better experience for blind users.

    3. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: In unrelated news...

      It's a device to administer electroshock therapy to shell-shocked (post traumatic stress disorder) soldiers in World War One. Other doctors at the time advocated more discipline, or tried placing lit cigarettes on the restrained patient's tongue. Others doctors did try 'talking therapies'.

      Today, we have more former servicemen in prison or who have committed suicide than the national average. Promising treatments for PTSD include gardening, and also the use of MDMA ('Ecstasy'), both combined with talking.

  11. a_yank_lurker

    Pot Meet Kettle

    The dead tree media is notorious for spreading lies, rumors, and outright fiction as news just as much as the Internet. Physician heal yourself!

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: Pot Meet Kettle

      Arm yourself with a working grasp of statistics, and read newspapers from different parts of the political spectrum, as well as more specialised publications (farming, engineering, science, sociology etc). Go to the pub and listen to people of different walks of life in various trades and professions. Remember that not everyone can afford to go the pub.

      1. a_yank_lurker

        Re: Pot Meet Kettle

        The real problem in the media is it tends to be an echo chamber. When one is knowledgeable about a subject it is relatively easy to spot the bogus stories. However, most of us are only really knowledgeable about a few areas - professionally and personally. Thus we all rely on the integrity of the media to get the story right; a task they generally are very dismal at. If the media as a whole is obviously failing in these areas then what does that say about other areas and their overall accuracy and reliability.

        This is on Cracked.com were they found many bogus, well known stories in the media worldwide:

        http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_1864_the-29-biggest-news-stories-2015-that-werent-true/

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    top down

    I will probably sounds like a parent saying this (im not one), but i have always thought that our esteemed leaders forget that they themselves are role models for society.

    They "pre-emptively strike" countries that didn't hit us first ... like a playground bully...

    They lie directly to us without any conscience.

    They stir up disproportionate feelings through emotive language......

    Then they wonder why everyone else sees that "might is right", "lies are more profitable than truths" and "i can get away with anything if try hard enough".

    Not a great surprise the world is turning to shit when we only get "do as i say, not as i do".

  13. Haku

    It must be true.

    I read it on the internet.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Sad, but true

    ...a general sense that society has given up altogether in even caring if something is true so long as it's shareable

    I think that comment somes it up perfectly. The speed of dissemination of information via Twitter, particularly, doesn't allow for any pause to verify the details or the truth of an assertion. It's all about instant gratification - hundreds of micro-pleasures per day, feeding the monster.

    I try to stay out of it because I can't handle such a high information flow, but I get caught out as much as anyone else when something appears to support my own prejudices.

    One could hope that the more serious news organs would not play the game, but they do. The BBC in particular is quite fond of abdicating journalistic responsibility in favour of regurgitating tweet sequences.

    I guess the only way to proceed is : "believe nothing until you've verified the details". Provided the details are somewhere other than on a social network, that is.

    Oh, and make a personal rule never to read any article (even on El Reg) that uses tweets to tell the story.

    1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      Re: Sad, but true

      I'm not sure that society ever cared much about truth when it conflicted with short-term social or political prejudices. Gresham's Law applies to journalism, too.

      However, this (and flaky money) are just examples of cheating and in recent years we've started to understand when cheating pays off and when it doesn't. (The "we" being economist, sociologists, anthropologists and others working fairly independently as far as I can see.) The future is not quite as bleak as you might imagine because there are long-term benefits to pursiing the Truth and long-term penalities for settling for easy falsehoods.

      --

      "Nullus in verba."

      "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled."

      1. Filippo Silver badge

        Re: long-term

        That would give reason to hope, were it not for the fact that the vast majority of people, and the totality of politicians, do not care at all about long-term.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @Ken hagan - Re: Sad, but true

        I had to look up "Gresham' Law" - yes it seems to fit. In other words, this is all down to human nature as it is now and has always been.

        I'm not overly concerned about the problem as long as governments and policy makers realise that 'public opinion' as indicated through these media is just a pot of ephemera - gut reactions based on a few milliseconds of rational thought (if any).

        I think this situation is likely to continue as long as the Ad companies are foolish enough to fund it. Hopefully the bubble will eventually burst and we'll start to see more sensible sources of on-line news arise.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sad, but true

      believe nothing until you've verified the details

      That's my mantra and I'm going to stick with it based on the sheer amount of bullshit peddled by the press these days.

      Basic examples and without giving any opinion on the story itself, 1000's of refugees/migrants shut motorway and cause problems on channel tunnel, 100's of thousands of refugees/migrants head to Europe.

      Then all of a sudden nothing, no more stories anywhere. Did they all go home? Are there no longer people trying to get into Europe? Unlikely, what's more likely is that these stories go against the government's gravy train opinion about Europe and the upcoming vote.

      This is why the press in general can't and won't be trusted.

      1. DocJames

        Re: Sad, but true

        Basic examples and without giving any opinion on the story itself, 1000's of refugees/migrants shut motorway and cause problems on channel tunnel, 100's of thousands of refugees/migrants head to Europe.

        So, is the reporting initially of these stories or the subsequent unreporting of these stories the false version?

        [top tip: your answer reveals your political leanings, unless you personally have evidence. Obviously given the way you've phrased the question your leaning are already revealed; in all likelihood mine are by posting this "in opposition" to you... you put it perfectly: sad but true, the human condition]

    3. itzman
      Headmaster

      Re: Sad, but true

      "I think that comment somes it up perfectly."

      And THAT comment sums it up, perfectly

    4. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Sad, but true

      The BBC in particular is quite fond of abdicating journalistic responsibility in favour of regurgitating tweet sequences.

      What a long-winded way of saying that they are shite.

  15. TeeCee Gold badge
    Facepalm

    And if it hadn't been the FBI saying as much, you can imagine that most people would have continued to believe it.

    Whereas now only the fuckwits who believe that every statement by a government agency is a lie believe it. IIRC they are usually referred to as "the blogosphere"........ hence the Washington Post's problem.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Holmes

      The Washington Post has a far bigger problem with rank neocon siegheiling disguised as "opinion pieces" on the front page.

      If they are not shilling for the latest bullshit oozing out of White House or State Department "Press Meetings".

      That paper is done, put a fork in it.

  16. The Axe

    Snopes

    There is always snopes.com to find out what's fake and what's not.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The problem is that Critical Thinking is not taught in School

    When there were proper Science lessons (rather than the current bullshit taught instead about 'how do we FEEL about nuclear power, global warming etc') then at least some section of society spent their time looking at evidence and data and applying a logical approach and critical thinking with an eye on skepticism.

    Maybe the governments want a more ignorant population - it makes them more pliable to believe their bullshit.

    1. Terry 6 Silver badge

      Re: The problem is that Critical Thinking is not taught in School

      Yay, Way to go AC.

      Perfect proof of what we are discussing here, total bullshit presented as reason, well done.

      (Note to self, really shouldn't feed the Trolls).

    2. PNGuinn

      Re: The problem is that Critical Thinking is not taught in School

      @ AC

      Ah, yes - The difference between "Science" and "Propaganda".

      Example: We homeschooled our daughter up to GCSE (age 16 for the Septics). She was struggling with Physics. I took a look at the comic that was passing as a modern textbook. Cartoon drawings. Disjointed factoids scattered over an A4 page. Multiple confusing colours. So much was ill explained or even downright wrong it was scary. Salvation came in the form of an old copy of an O-Level textbook by Nelkon. A5 ish. A little over an inch thick. Black and white. Close spaced text. Detailed labelled diagrams to be studied. More text. Lots of problems to do as exercises. That book required serious thought and study. Funnily enough she found it easer to follow than the comic. Got an A in her IGCSE. (She had to take the exam only International GCSE as 'cos we weren't teachers we weren't qualified to fiddle the coursework.)

      But, you know, Critical Thinking is not just for scientists. It applies to the Arts as well. Take History for instance. Learn to think critically when you read history - and that also means reading widely and including where possible original sources - and you'll begin to understand current affairs much better. Why? The past drives the present, and humanity doesn't change - we repeat the same mistakes, for usually the same reasons.

      In fact it applies everywhere. When, some years ago I did a course in Theology the graduation sermon was entitled "Things thought through and things not thought through" The visiting Professor made the point made the point somewhat forcibly.

      1. werdsmith Silver badge

        Re: The problem is that Critical Thinking is not taught in School

        PNGuinn

        Your description of a "comic" modern school physics text book bears absolutely no resemblance to the ones being studied by my children at GCSE.

        And therein lies the problem. A person might read your comment, accept it as truth and repeat it on social media infecting more people with a prejudice against current pedagogical methods.

      2. Bernard M. Orwell

        Re: The problem is that Critical Thinking is not taught in School

        "When, some years ago I did a course in Theology the graduation sermon was entitled "Things thought through and things not thought through""

        Theology? Critical thinking? Those things don't go together.

        If there were any critical thinking or logic applied to Theology then they'd tear up the "discipline" on page one, day one and no one would ever study it again. You don't get much more "not thought through" than a "science" that takes biblical writings as truth at face value and proceeds from there.

        Graduation sermon....says it all.

        1. Fading
          Holmes

          Re: The problem is that Critical Thinking is not taught in School

          Whilst studying comparative religion an ability to critically assess different theologies was a boon. I suspect the cognitive dissonance suffered by accepting all theologies are true would have weeded out those unable to use critical thought.......

        2. Hargrove

          Re: The problem is that Critical Thinking is not taught in School

          Theology? Critical thinking? Those things don't go together.

          No. but they can and should. The question of whether Shakespeare was right when he penned "There is a divinity that shapes our ends . . ." and the reality (or lack thereof) of Einstein's Central Mystery are fundamental theological questions. These are worthy topics for critical thought.

          The natural philosophy of folks like Penrose and Hawkings is, in a real sense, critical theology, even if the logical conclusion (logical in the sense of formal logic) is that God does not exist.

          Religion has given has given "God or the gods if there be such", and by extension, theology, a bad name. My personal conclusion, after some 70 years of pursuing such questions, is that the only intellectually honest stance is radical agnosticism (Motto: I don't know; you don't either; it doesn't matter.) The answer to the great question "Why?" is the one my Grandfather gave me when I was 3, and every time I asked thereafter. . .To make little boys like you ask questions.

          Why study if the end is not certain knowledge? I can only answer for myself. The exercise has enriched every aspect of my life, and I have enjoyed a rich full life.

  18. MrRimmerSIR!

    Ask the experts

    The PA media outlets have been spreading false allegations across social media and the traditional media outlets, picked up and swallowed wholesale by lazy journalists the world over. Presumably as journalists are pushed for more sensational headlines and pressed for time there is less opportunity to research and verify stories than there was pre-internet.

    http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/ten-deadly-lies-about-israel-213272

    Except instead of being jokey nonsense this has lead to the loss of many lives as gullible followers have been whipped up into a frenzy of hatred and violence.

  19. Wade Burchette

    "What's worse is that fake news has taken on a much more unpleasant tone, with people creating fake news stories in order to reflect their own hatred and prejudices."

    Uh, Mrs. Dewey just described the Washington Post, the Washington Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, ... well actually all modern day newspapers and TV news sources. It is impossible to find honest, objective news. Each news outlet puts their slant on a story and ignores any story contrary to their belief. And now each news outlet is willing to push aside mandatory research for a good story. Why do think people so readily seek out different sources of news? It is because the entire MSM are so hopelessly biased that they are beyond redemption.

  20. Efros

    What happened to the Fourth Estate?

    The media's role has changed it seems, no longer do they expose the misinformation, fantasies, and downright lies of the political classes they just promulgate them. The nut-job leaders and potential leaders (we all know who I mean) would be torpedoed dead in the water if the media would just grow a pair and go after them. Instead we see a growing culture of repetitive lying until the lie is accepted as truth.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Fake pages on Facebook

    Lately I've seen people link to stories from "Fox News" and "CNN" pages that use the actual logo and posting possibly believable to the right audience type stories. The only way to know for sure they are fake is to look at the page and see it has tens or hundreds of thousands of likes instead of the multiple millions I'm sure the real Fox and CNN pages have.

    I'm sure Facebook shuts them down when they are made of aware of them, but they can probably live under the radar for a few days. There are many who trust their favored news source, so if they see a story come across their feed from Fox News and that's what they watch daily, they are far more likely to believe it than if it was some random news site. They will probably believe "Obama donated millions in book revenue to ISIS" or "Trump sold property near WTC site despite being aware buyers planned to build world's largest mosque there" if they think it is a Fox story. And good luck getting them to accept the story is a fake even if you can show them snopes, they will remember it came from Fox and believe snopes is working with the MSM to hide the truth!

  22. harmjschoonhoven
    Thumb Up

    Verifying photos and videos on social media

    Fake information online, be it on the topic of migrants or war in Syria - or, in fact, pretty much any story that's in the news, is an increasingly common phenomenon. Social media networks in particular are inundated with photos and videos that are either doctored or taken out of context. But although media outlets can't always be on the ground to verify every photo that comes their way, there are dozens of tools and techniques to help you cross-check images and avoid falling for the fakes.

    From a 15-point DIY guide: http://observers.france24.com/en/20151110-observers-guide-verifying-photos-videos-social-media-networks

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Forbes one of the worst!

    I find that in the fucked up Wikipedia wars, Forbes was a likely candidate to back up what often a political stance, not reality!

    The internet age is certainly the fucked up age.

    It is made worse because the fucked up stuff gets regurgitated by the idiot masss, those masses being you and me.

    Truth is too boring?

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    (share your story)

    ...a general sense that society has given up altogether in even caring if something is true so long as it's shareable.

    Possibly the finest and most pithy summary of where we are today I've yet read.

  25. chivo243 Silver badge
    Facepalm

    It's all the operator game or maybe called the telephone game

    You know the game where one piece of information is passed from person to person, and at the end you compare what the original phrase to the phrase the last person heard...

    This type of journalism follows this game. Who can one up the other guy...

    Now get that purple elevator monkey out of my office!

  26. dgoog786

    Comment from Colorado, U.S.

    I tweeted this story from WaPo. It is true and painfully sad, as well as dangerous that we're in this position. Look around... U.S. and U.K. governments wanting to WEAKEN encryption, Fadi Chehade signing up with the Chinese, Donald Trump. It's completely out of control. I really don't know what to do about the ignorami, but the rest of us have to stand up and do something NOW or we're going to end up SLAVES to the wealthy.

    If you're young and intelligent, please check out savetheworld578.wordpress.com and do whatever you can.

  27. itzman
    Paris Hilton

    Truth? Who needs it?

    And that is the $64,000 dollar question isn't it?

    As long as believing in some utter nonsense doesn't get you killed before you bonk the girl next door and knock her up then it doesn't actually matter.

    Darwin was never about the survival of the fittest, merely about elimination of the most egregiously dysfunctional.

    What has changed is not that suddenly the lnternet is made of lies, rather than cats, but that the proliferation of counter messages means that people are just becoming aware of the fact that they are being lied to, and lying to each other, routinely, on principle and all the time. And always have been.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The problem I find I have now is where can I go for half way decent fact based news reporting. The BBC used to be a reasonable source but the last few years has seen it take a nose dive and then fall off a cliff in terms of quality. I had a look the other day and half the stories above the fold were about celebrities and they have dumbed down to the point of uselessness. Even the factual stories now come across as far from neutral - the site if quite frankly odd, individual articles lean either left or right but the site average comes out a little right. I've tried the Independent recently but that's just a different kind of bad. I've read a few articles from The Guardian and The Telegraph recently which were ok but bias is a bit wearing. The NYT is surprisingly not that bad but I'd rather a UK news source. Basically we are stuck without a decent news source.

    1. werdsmith Silver badge

      The Guardian and the Daily Mail are the two worst offenders in my opinion.

      Their content appears to be tripe pandering to the preferences of their readership.

      These the real gutter end of the trash newspaper segment, worse and more gutter than the accepted gutter tabloid press - because at least the Sun and the Mirror make no bones about the fact that they are gutter press. The Mail and the Guardian pretend to have some form of respectability, and some actuallyt believe it.

  29. Kirstian K
    Paris Hilton

    What annoys me even more

    is the people on facebook who punt it around like its all the truth,

    and (quotes):

    'All your sheep believe the news corp's, this is the real truth here + here + here + here' oh f'ing stop punting this shit at me will you..!.

    'your all Sheeple who etc etc etc' awful truly awful.

    now im sure on the 'real' news outlets there is a certain amount of bollox,

    and in reverse im sure some things don't make the 'real news' for various reasons and these sites may get lucky some times,

    im personally in the state where I just ignore it all and don't believe any of it any more, BUT that's dangerous, as when something important is being told to us, I probably now wont believe it.

    I have a suggestion: you know the new domains etc, well under '.news' domain enforce truth only (yeah i know but its worth a try:), and if any falsehoods are found they get fined / banned etc, but basically be strict etc. (and the crap to '.crap' or '.shit' and have easy remove this bollox from my internet option please..!

    (as a developer / techy person, I hate that im starting to hate the internet, and I spend most of my life convincing my kids NOT to use it, I remember when it was a fun place, back in the 60's :) )...

    and Paris even her antics are not even barely news worthy any more, now that's sad.

  30. Teddy the Bear

    From astounding to useful to full of crap in just 20 years...

    Looking back, the speed that the internet has changed (not in technical terms, but in usage terms) is astonishing. It used to be a novelty which occasionally astounded with new things like easily downloading new software. Then it went to useful, with collaboration on a whole new scale. Now, it's full of rot, lies, half-truths and clickbait. Web 3.0 sucks. Wake me up when Web 4.0 arrives.

  31. Amorous Cowherder
    Facepalm

    "(can you even remember what the internet was like in 2014?) "

    What the heck? Typical moronic journo type with a 3 second attention span.

    I remember using the internet back in 1993, right through to now. I remember seeing the technologies begin and improve. I remember dialing up to my ISP after 8pm back in the mid 90s, as the calls were cheaper at night. I remember the first time I used a 512kb pipe to my ISP and how lightning fast it seemed. I remember using Napster when there were only a few thousand people on it. I remember using IRC chans for the first time,"meeting" fellow game players and music fans.

    So yes I remember a heck of a lot over the last, almost 25 years of using the internet.

  32. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

    the Internet

    can you even remember what the internet was like in 2014?

    I can remember that in 2014, as in 2015, 1983, and every year between, "Internet", when referring to the public internet, is a proper noun, and thus is capitalized by careful writers.

    As a common noun, "internet" refers to any network-of-networks.

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