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  • (January 12, 2023, 01:18:11 AM)

Author Topic: The News Doesn't Like Fake News  (Read 2176 times)

Chris

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The News Doesn't Like Fake News
« on: December 01, 2016, 05:20:39 PM »

Main stream media - aka "the news" is reporting that fake news - aka "the news" - might have played a bigger part in the recent presidential election that was previously thought. They're blaming Facebook for propagating fake news which fueled Trump's rise to power because people who were on the fence for Hillary decided they read one too many negative news articles about her and thus voted for Trump. Obama is hinting at censorship to combat this problem, but I think the real problem is the fact that we actually have enough people in society now who are relying on a site like Facebook for their main source of news.

It was bad enough having to sift through the biased news articles on CNN's and FOX News' website because there were always considered to be questionable, but now we have people thinking Facebook is a real source for news? What's next? People are going to start relying on people's internet dating profiles for their autobiographies? That seems kind of crazy, right? Why? Because we all know that what people write on the internet is just one big lie to begin with.

"I read it on the internet, it must be true" was always a sarcastic dig at the internet's credibility up until about November 8th 2016 when Americans actually believed that because they read it on the internet, well, then it must be true! But what about before November 8th? Was fake news a problem then? Were there internet hoaxes before then? Of course there were! But people were mostly too smart at the time to fall for them.

Share this picture and BMW is going to give away a brand new BMW!

Share this picture of a BMW and win a new BMW!
Share this picture of a BMW and win a new BMW!

I have probably seen something like this at least 500 times on social media in the last few years. Actually, since it is close to the holidays, my news feed is long over due for one. And it usually isn't just BMW giving away one car, they some how made exactly 22 too many of a certain model and need to get rid of them so they're going to be giving them away to a random 22 people who like and share the image on Facebook.

Back in 2007/2008 when this sort of thing was tried not many people fell for it. Sure, there weren't as many people using social media at the time, but it just feels as though now people are more gullible and believe something like this more than they did in 2007/2008. Who knows though, maybe companies like BMW and RV companies are doing so well that they're willing to give away some free stuff. Hey, it's worth a shot, right?

What's the worst that can happen? Most of your friends will see that you shared it and think you're gullible. No. Don't be ridiculous - they're going to share it as well.

This guy who just won the Power Ball is going to give away $10 million!!!1

How many times have we seen this right after a big drawing? You know, the one that no one wins, yet somehow some asshole claims that they won and tries to go viral by posting a picture of him holding up a Photoshopped lottery ticket. The gimmick is that if you like and share the picture he or she will randomly select someone and see to it that they get $10 million dollars of their earnings.

I'll tell you what... If I just won a Power Ball drawing worth $300 million I would not be advertising to the world that I won and I wouldn't be advertising that I fake won, either. $300 million is a lot of cash and people will actually kill for that amount of money. That isn't just "well off" money, that is money that can start to shape local economies if used correctly.

This is almost like the people who are protesting Trump winning yet didn't even vote. Why would you do that? You got your chance at democracy and you blew it. If you actually win the lottery and then advertise it to the world that you won then you blew your chance at actually being able to enjoy the money.

Methodus Toolz

Pseudo Hacking Toolz for l33t h4x0rs
Pseudo Hacking Toolz for l33t h4x0rs

Talk about a blast from the past, Methodus Toolz was a program from 1999/2000 that was used to "hack" AOL accounts and give other users viruses if you felt inclined to do so. If I recall correctly, one of the features included a "hard drive spinner" that would make your hard drive spin wildly out of control and burn up and burn your entire house down while in the process.

Users of the program believed this so much that they would use it at the first hint of an argument in a chat room. Didn't think Britney Spears was hot? Get ready to get h4x0red!

What they failed to realize was that the program itself (Methodus Toolz) was more than likely some kind of virus that allowed its coders to gain sensitive information. The only down side about the whole plot was that the developer didn't realize that 12 year olds don't have bank account information on their computers.

The list can really go on and on. This is nothing new. It didn't take the internet to suddenly fabricate fake news or other fake stories. The problem is people's overall willingness to believe what they're consuming and taking it literally at face value.

People - you need to wake up. You can't rely on The Onion for news, nor can you rely CNN, Fox News, a website with the term "3 percent" in the domain name, or a site like Jezebel to deliver unbiased news. Use multiple sources and most of all use you common sense. Jesus.

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