Since the 2016 election year, fake news has been plastered into the mainstream media. They -- as the gatekeepers of the establishment -- tell us that they are the "real news", giving people "truth", while other alternative media sources for information are not "real news" like the mainstream media, but instead are the purveyors of "fake news".
Donald Trump was the only candidate to capitalize off of the mainstream media half-truths about their news "reports", and won over many people. We were told that "facts" don't matter to those who support Trump, and as a result we are now living in a "post-truth" era, so they claimed. But fake news and people believing whatever they want as "post-truth" was around long before the media's rejection of Trump.
Scientists and other "experts" have been included in the arguments against fake news, ranging from climate science issues to the politics of the US with Russia. Private companies like Facebook have been building their own anti-fake news tools, and now the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at University of Texas at Arlington has a team that is leading a project to combat bots and the spread of fake news.
The project is called "Bot versus bot: An online AI battle will soon rage over fake news", and comes a few weeks after Fortune reported that Trump's recent surge of Twitter followers -- 5 million in a few days -- are too many in a short period of time and seem to actually be bots or automated accounts. Allegation are that Trump or his team purchased all those fake followers to build-up for a bot war against Trump's critics. These Twitter bot armies have been linked to Russian agents according to former FBI agent Clint Watts.
The automated accounts on Twitter can automatically publish content themselves, and also forward content from other accounts, follow other accounts, leave comments, and therefore appear to be real people engaging in real activity. These bots are said to often be launched by foreign nations hostile towards U.S. interests.
So the team at UTA are trying to develop algorithms to detect which behavior is coming from a real person, and which is coming from an automated program that can be providing misleading information that propagates fake news, or even act as a malicious online abuser. Chengkai Li, lead of the project, says the focus is on 'national security' as opposed to domestic politics. But will that really be the only things that it's used for?
The team also recognizes propaganda and yellow journalism of the last century to also belong to fake news, and as such will be including communication and journalism principles in their computational fact-checking analysis. They will also be looking at the interaction between what these bots do and the behaviors and effects in news consumption that they have. Social science experts and computer scientists are teaming up to advance the understanding of fake news and the ability to counter it.
Li has a track record for combatting fake news, having built ClaimBuster, a tool to verify the claims made by presidential candidates.
Some of us know that the stories and the events told to us be the mainstream media are regurgitated narratives provided to convey a desired worldview for us to "get behind", believe in, and live according to.
Will these fake news tools ever be turned on the mainstream "real news" purveyors to show that they are really the bastions of freedom and truth that most people believe them to be? Could it be that they only target the social media or alternative media for a reason so as to always make them look less-than-accurate in their information, thereby reinforcing the necessity to get your trusted news from the mainstream media?
References:
- Bot versus bot: An online AI battle will soon rage over fake news
- Interdisciplinary team to construct computer program to identify fake news
- Soon, new tool to tackle Twitter bots spreading fake news
- Trump’s Fake Twitter Following Climbs, Sparking Fears of a Bot War
Thank you for your time and attention! I appreciate the knowledge reaching more people. Take care. Peace.
If you appreciate and value the content, please consider:
Upvoting 
, Sharing 
or Reblogging 
below.
I can only hope that this tool would be used on the mainstream media as well. Seemingly most influential MSM authors and pundits are on social media so I think it's likely they'll end up in the pool sometime. Whether they get whitelisted who knows.
I wrote an article a few days ago that touches on this topic a little bit, I think you might like it. It's on my profile titled, The Future Will Be Faked.
Perhaps if the education system wasn't such garbage in the US "fake news" wouldn't be an issue. People could just use the classic filter for "fake news", THEIR BRAINS! Of course the establishment has carefully cultivated their hoards of mindless zombies willing to do and repeat anything they are told like trained parrots. Can't have anyone teaching them bad words or else they might go and repeat them!
While the school system is surely a big factor, if people want to destroy Obamacare and love ACA and don't know those two are the same things, then no school in the world can cure that ignorance.
That is the real solution that I have previously covered as well. Instead of getting people to learn to discern... no... filter the information for us according to the "rules" set forth... lol. Thanks for the feedback.
"News" has been decaying for a really long time; pretty much since reporting became mostly about getting attention rather than reporting facts... I don't remember exactly when the term "info-tainment" was first coined (1980's?); most "loudly" brought to mind by the likes of Geraldo and Phil Donahue... they weren't exactly fake news, but they certainly helped set the scene (on TV) for "people must be ENTERTAINED." by the news. And so, a version of clickbait was born: "On the next Geraldo: Men Who Were Raised By Schools Of Seahorses!"
Of course, this is just my own theory... but if we have been trained for nearly 40 years to equate "entertainment" with "the News" then the underlying inclination to attach importance (and verification) to public reporting has probably materially contributed to getting us where we are today. And now we will have "bot wars" over the news... with less and less being related to events, and more and more being related to positioning.
Then the question becomes whether conventional news reporting is quietly committing suicide, as the only thing that seems authentic is a civilian with a cell phone camera, not the news "media."
Fact is a large number of people now get their "newsertainment" from Facebook, Twitter and other social media instead of the mainstream directly "62 percent of U.S. adults get their news from social media"
So more alternative real media from on-the-streets real people is likely to pop up, as you suggest ;) Distrusting people will seek out sources that are more raw and real than the semi-scripted news shows, and then more regular people will follow since it will get propagate sin social media.
Having worked as a journalist, I know there is no such thing as free press. This is especially true of MSM, but I'm afraid it is also true for many of the alternative media. The best thing to do is follow as many as you can and use your own judgement. I'm scared that at some point the powers that be will use bots and whatever to limit access to sites they deem fake news. And I don't know if there's gonna be an outcry when that happens. So many people prefer to be told what to believe.
100% agree with this, especially in the current political climate with the "left" and "right" living in completely different worlds it seems sometimes. There are topics that both sides refuse to touch at all due to it even slightly conflicting with the agenda they're pushing.
Facebook and co have already started censoring websites they deem "fake news" online so it is only a matter of time before other platforms.
Yup, we have to think, not just trust ;) The restriction of information for the e"public good" has been used before, and is a definite avenue that many seek to reinforce in order to get away with what they are doing. Nixon and other presidents have tried to use the "law" to stop information from getting out. Thanks for the feedback.
good article , however it depends on what you term fake news. News are fake to politicians when they go against their ideology however great when they dance to their tone..It is however dangerous to the community when free speech and real news are attached as fake news....I am for freedon of speech and ability to do your own constructive reseach. Good post
Hehe, great point! Thanks for the feedback.
you are welcome, always. Folowing you. lets stay in touch as I like your posts. Great guy
But freedom of speech needs more respect , I am not talking about hate speech real freedom of speech ,without using trigger warnings cause then it becomes censorship and that my steemians are what cause rise of tyrants. That is why I love this platform cause everyone can say what they think.
Good pont
lol
Fake news has been around since the beginning of news media. It did not start or take off this past decade. Certainly not in 2016.
Yep, i wish the next time something claims to be news should be immediately fact checked if possible. Now we have something called alternative facts which is give the same amount of credence. I have now started to vet some of the news and im sure other people are doing the same.
Great, yeah they have been caught repeating the false narrative before... hehe. Thanks for the feedback.
That is why I don't like the replacement of the word "propaganda" with "information" in political terms. I believe it is the nature of news/media to be biased and peddle the storyline of the establishment.
It is like the people in the matrix can all become agents: Everyone (who did not take a red pill) will defend the system he lives in out of pure instinct.
Yup, the current condition is all they know, lack of imagination of something better because things "are as they should be" so no need for change, "things are good". They identify with the worldview they currently have, and when that is threatened, or the way of life that forms that worldview is threatened, then they defend it in various ways. Thanks for the feedback ;)
They use "double speak." They are the ministry of truth from the book 1984. ....We live in a post modernist society. Meaning there is no ultimate truth and that everyone has their own "truth." Truth is not internal it is external. No-one is a true relativist though. Try walking in front of a moving bus. It is either you or the bus. It can't be both.
Yeah post modernism is the death of real thinking lol.
Terrific article, @krnel. Sobering. With our Bell Pottinger experience in South Africa (UK based PR firm coined the term White Monopoly Capital on behalf of the Gupta family who have a small project to capture our state, then caused the term to spread like wildfire through social media - Twitter bot accounts), we should pay attention to the outcomes of this project.
Thanks, I see you've had your experience with it ;)
And we're suffering the downgrades to show for it! :-(
I agree their needs to be a change, not to sound like politician but I think the change we desperately need is education. With education people can learn values and will so be able to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong, or on this topic what is news and what is fake... that is just my thoughts
Today mainstream news is almost all propaganda meant to spread and reinforce the narratives of the deep state (and other "groups")
that, among other things, divide us, distract us and keep us living in a state of fear.
The more you can understand the tactics they use, the easier it becomes to spot fake news.
Edward Bernays is up in heaven right now laughing at the brainwashed masses his concepts helped to create....well maybe not heaven :o)
Awesome post, this is the type of content we need more of.
Cheers,
Michael
Yup, to be able to escape manipulation and soft mind control, first the awareness of the tactics and techniques is required in order to understand how we are being deceived. Thanks for the feedback. Some people like this type of content, and some of the rich rulers think it's not good for Steemit. All my posts get flagged just before payout. The rich get to decide who can keep their rewards. If they don't like you, they can just take some off.
That means Steemit isn't a free speech platform, it's censored.
That's really sad and changes my perspective of this place.
Thanks for the 411 man.
Yeah check the past 3+ months (to end of Feb) to see. I thought I could earn an audience and support after 6 months and get to keep my rewards for posting on various things and some original work of my own, but that original work on morality and consciousness was what started to get flagged first, then I challenged the rich authorities here and things got worse lol. It's all in my previous posts. Other people can keep the rewards for their posts that get higher rewards than me... but I can't...lol. It seems not many people care overall, as long as they aren't the ones getting mistreated like this. So I protested by not posting for months. Not the best strategy obviously, since hardly anyone really cares lol.
Yeah, I guess I have a lot to learn here.
Thanks for the info man :o)
Michael
BREAKING NEWS! We are now reporting that any news outlet that challenges our narrative is part of a russina spy agency. We don't have any proof of this, we're just reporting it!
Edit: did not find the meme..
LOL! Nice one!
Mainstream media Is complete lies, there's no half truths, they just straight lie. I and millions of others will never ever watch these liars ever again. They just read off a teleprompter, so they're just speaking, they don't know If what they're reading Is true, they just do what they're told like a soldier.
The mainstream media Is the real fake news, they've destroyed themselves now. There Is no way back, even If they were the only news on the air, anyone with any sense wouldn't ever listen to them.
I agree they are the real fake news indeed, caught many times. Thanks for the feedback.
Great article @krnel. Thanks for covering it!
Welcome, thanks for reading it ;)
Real news, MSM lies, Nasa lies, 911 Is a lie, Our education system lies our doctors are lied to and they spread those lies. Like Michael Jackson stated years ago, they lie about everything, all your history books are lies. Here Is some Truth.
https://steemit.com/freedom/@jjyeshua/bbc-rothschild-controlled-propaganda
Good article
Fact checking technology has to be the future of news.
Although, there will always be those who choose not to believe it, even if it is proven to be true.
Good article
very nice post
Great article.
thanks for sharing @krnel
followed
The world is going crazy, and speed of it is rising !
=[