Most of us think we know what motivates fake news. We may assume it’s a method of carrying out a newspaper publisher’s or broadcast company’s agenda. However, it can also be false information that news outlets get from liars, which those news outlets subsequently report in good faith.
You can probably think of other examples. There’s one thing we aren’t likely to think of, though, which is why we should get our information from different sources and seek good commentators.
This morning, I began reading a special issue of Lapham’s Quarterly, dedicated to the history of fake news. I bought the magazine three months ago, and I’m sorry I don’t know whether it’s still available on newsstands. There’s no date on the issue.
The article which begins on page 9, titled 2016: Veles PAID CONTENT, is a reprint of an earlier report by Craig Silverman and Lawrence Alexander. It appeared originally on BuzzFeed’s site on November 3, 2016, and it’s still online.
Please click the link below and read this fine piece. It explains how poverty motivates some politically indifferent people (who may not even live in the U.S.) to spread misinformation. Then add one more theory to your ever-expanding list of why you’re seeing so much B.S. on social media.
