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#FakeNewsFriday!

Every week we recap the best Social News Posts on SUJO that highlight disinformation, deception, fake news, or news about how we're dealing with it all.  It's the best of what's fake on SUJO. Happy #FakeNewsFriday!
 

The Election, The Chop, and Fake People

Organizing and targeting through technology was hailed as a major contributing factor to Obama's success at the polls. But just as social media had veered from it's original intention of creating positive connections between people, the tactics that were employed so successfully during the Obama elections taught foreign actors to use these new channels to sow discord and division. The most disturbing part of foreign disinformation campaigns is how easily and efficiently they can be replicated. Now domestic bad actors and political campaigns themselves can easily replicate these tactics while social platforms struggle to keep up with the deluge of election interference from all fronts in elections across the globe. Can social networks keep up with disinformation campaigns on their platforms from The U.S. to Myanmar? As private companies, do they even have a obligation to do so?

Sometimes it's people and publications we know who knowingly or unwittingly distributed false information. Elle Magazine intentionally posted fake news to get people to vote. The wife of Justice Clarence Thomas shared a years-old photo that she said happened when the migrant caravan met Mexican police at their Southern border just a few weeks ago. The Houston Chronicle finds that many of its stories containing quotes from voters were fabricated. And now we have the infamous "chop" from CNN's Jim Acosta that brings about questions of a potentially-doctored video that was shared by Press Secretary Sanders. Fake News is most powerful when it comes from those we know and trust.

Is the real danger not that we will be fooled by fake news, but that we will not believe anything at all?   
   
As always, these stories are available on the SUJO app along with questions you can answer anonymously on the app. We'd love to hear what you think!

Check out the "Fake News" topic category in the SUJO app for more! You can also keep up with #FakeNewsFriday on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Election Day was rife with disinformation. Twitter and Facebook worked to remove content that would keep voters away from the polls and had removed thousands of fake accounts in the run up to election day. They also worked with federal officials on the effort. Amongst them were memes urging people to vote on the wrong day, claims that immigration agents would be patrolling polling locations, that buses of non-immigrants were stopped at the border with Beto signs, and others.

Is domestic disinformation now worse than foreign intervention?

Following investigation, Houston Chronicle retracts eight stories

The Houston Chronicle has retracted eight stories from veteran reporter Mike Ward after it was found he likely fabricated hundreds of quotes. After suspicions, The Chronicle says they did a review of 744 stories dating back to 2014. Of 275 individuals quoted, 122 could be found making up only 72 of the stories. The Chronicle used property records, social media, and other sources to try to verify Ward's sources. They also spot checked other reporters and found almost all sources could be found.

Do local papers lack the resources to employ safeguards against fake sources?
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Sarah Sanders accused of circulating 'doctored' video of Jim Acosta’s interaction with White House intern

After press credentials for CNN's Jim Acosta were revoked, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has been accused of sharing a doctored video of Acosta's interaction with a White House intern that resulted in the revocation. CNN executive Dornic and NYT's Haberman allege that the video sped up Acosta's arm motion to appear more aggressive. Sanders says what’s important is that Acosta made contact. Media outlets have accused Sanders of sharing the video from Paul Joseph Watson, an Infowars contributor.

Was Jim Acosta over the line regardless of the mic interaction?

Facebook admits it screwed up on Myanmar — but it refuses to take all the blame

On election day, Facebook released conclusions from an independent study on how the platform was used to spread disinformation, foment division, and incite violence in Myanmar. Activists called for sustain transparency, independent audits, and commitment to equal enforcement of standards. The report suggests Facebook has struggled to understand Myanmar's recent violence and has difficulty with communities like Myanmar that do not use Unicode, a consistent encoding across all languages.

As a private company, does Facebook have an obligation to police disinformation?

Mark Zuckerberg turns down UK parliament request to answer questions about fake news, privacy

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg declined a request by UK and Canadian gov’t officials, now joined by Argentina, Australia and Ireland, to attend a joint parliamentary hearing on disinformation. Facebook acknowledges “the seriousness of the Cambridge Analytica issue”, but stands by its choice to send senior representatives instead. The lawmakers want Zuckerberg himself to attend to give the 170 million Facebook users in their countries "the same line of accountability" given to US and EU users.

Is Zuckerberg dodging accountability in these five countries?

Fake Sam Brownback feed on Twitter stirs up Kansans post-election

A bogus social media account, now suspended by Twitter, claimed to be former Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and made a post accusing Kansans of electing "Godless liberal extremists." Sam Brownback currently works at the US State Department where he is an ambassador of religious freedom. A spokesperson said the @GovSamBrownback account was not associated with Ambassador Brownback.

Have you ever been fooled by a fake Twitter account masked as someone famous?

 
Top SNiPs Weekly Recap
The SNiPs below, which are all accompanied by one to three questions you can answer anonymously in the SUJO App, are the top SNiPs of the week. They are a combination of the SNiPs with the most views and most interactions.

Top Journalist SNiPs of the Week
Journalist SNiPs are fact-checked before posting to ensure minimal to no bias. The claims made are independently verified by multiple publications. Journalist SNiPs are labeled blue.
1) Mark Zuckerberg turns down UK parliament request to answer questions about fake news, privacy
2) Trump fires Sessions, vows to fight Democrats if they launch probes
3) Amazon to roll out free shipping to everyone during 2018 holiday season

Top Influencer SNiPs of the Week
Opinionated influencer SNiPs are not fact-checked, but our curators typically post a counter-point. Influencer SNiPs are chosen to show diverse opinions from influential people. Influencer SNiPs are labeled magenta in the app.
1) Democrats won the House, but Trump won the election
- Counter SNiP: (This SNiP was pared with the #2 influencer SNiP below when posted.)
2) Republicans are paying the Trump tax
3) After Winning the House, Democrats Might Pick an Impeachment Fight
- Counter SNiP: For Democrats — and America — a Sigh of Relief

Top User SNiPs of the Week
User SNiPs are not fact-checked or curated by SUJO. User SNiPs can be posted by anyone from the community. User SNiPs are labeled green in the app.
1) Bill Gates Showed Off a Jar of Poop to Get Us Jazzed About Toilets of the Future
- user: Saltydog
2) "YOU'RE LYING!..." Trump SHOCKED After Rep. Ted Lieu Destroys Him Over Email And iPhone Hypocrisy - user: trehuger
3) How many women won? We tracked the midterm results
- user: Henry
 
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