Fake news buries truth FAKE NEWS DOMINATED MANY PLATFORMS DURING THE 2016 ELECTION Source:yournewswire.com BY COLLIN BEREND THis p ast year we w ere bombarded with fatuous and spurious sto ries, by som e o f th e m ost u n k n o w n w e b s ite s p o s in g as new s and Í• FBI Insider: Clinton Emails Linked To Political Pedophile Sex TTk • ean Adl-ïabatabai in Hsws, ÜS // 23 Comments ■ ■ o r g a n iz a tio n s w e a ll know. There was fake news to exploit clicks for money, for amusement, for con sp iratorial lu nacy and articles spreading provocative lies for attention or m isrepresentation. Fake new s is d efined as a source o f news th a t deliberately doesn’ t tell the truth or misrepresents w hat happened. This includes those writing conspiratorial articles from the likes of Alex Jones, a far right political commentator, or even CNN m issing a crucial detail. Fake news is defined as a source o f news that deliberately doesn’t te ll the truth o r misrepresents what happened. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when Sylville Sm ith w as k illed , on vid eo, C N N first portrayed his sister, Sherelle Sm ith, as calling for peace in her area. Later on, CNN apologized for the editing, having cut out before Sm ith suggested taking the violence to the suburbs instead. The news sites covering that error came from Breitbart and the Washington Times, both conservative leaning. W hether this fault was purposeful or not, does matter. I don’t see w hy CN N would sim ply not include a 2-second section o f that video. When reports from 4Chan about Trump and his golden shower allegation came out, outlets like BuzzFeed ran the story as fact, knowing there was no evidence. The sam e happened w ith the idea o f Russia leaking inform ation during the election. C N N , M SN B C , The New York IT Tw< An FBI source that a massive has emerged from the Clinton email investigation and pedophile sex ring operates in Washington. According to reports, at least 6 members of Congress and several leaders from federal agencies are implicated in the pedophile ring, which they say was run directly with the Clinton Foundation as a front. Found on yournewswire.com, this article is an example of the many fake news stories that ran last year. Times, The W ashington Post and so on, pushed the narrative that it was Russia b efo re a ffir m a tiv e in fo rm a tio n w as provided. B efore any evidence. News agencies should wait to see the evidence, not believe the CIA . President Trump’ s skepticism o f their work is well placed. It was the CIA that helped get u s into the Iraq W ar based on false inform ation about former Iraqi president and dictator Saddam Hussein. Colin Powell went on record and called it a “ great intelligence failure/* Even the CIA should not automatically be believed. They’ re hum an-operated, and as such, are subject to fail. We all are. One fake story of 2016 was the allegation that Pope Francis endorsed Trump. First published on WTOE 5 and later picked up b y E nd ing the Fed, th is story w as read hundreds o f thousands o f tim es on Facebook. A hit that sadly caused an actual uproar was the infam ous Pizzagate. This began after o n lin e users read th e W ikiLeak o f C lin to n ’ s em ails w ith Jo h n Podesta, w hich contained the word “ pizza.” They believed this to be a secret m eaning to som e nefarious tru th , such as h u m an trafficking involvem ent. T hese stories hu rt true jo u rn alism b ecau se th ey blur th e lin e b etw een w hat is real and what is fake. W hen fake news tries to look real, and w hen real publications present mere claims as facts, no one knows what to believe. Already, it has become a political left versus right. Fox News and W ashington Times versus The W ashington Post and The New York Tim es. BuzzFeed versus Breitbart. For consum ers o f th e news, the best course o f action is to read all sides and lo o k at the evidence. Do your research and check the URL. If you’re reading Everyday Feminism or BuzzFeed, then read Breitbart. If you hear one opinion or fact in the news from one source, see the opposing pieces. And if you see som ething that looks odd or unreal, check the link. Does it have a “ .com .co?” Then it’s likely fake. The sites with a “ .co” in them are generally overseas sites, like “ .co.uk” for a British website. One m ust be skeptical w hen reading o nline and not in p rint; but w ith the right direction and knowledge on how to discern w hat’ s'true and false, hearing b o th sides and w aitin g for evid ence, readers should be fine. Clackamas Print MARCH 8,2017 thedackamasprint.com 3