A website recently reported that a study by Hohenheim University in Germany revealed that one of the main reasons why fake news stories do not die is because the audience is eager for it, especially right-wing activists.
Salon published a report that echoed the findings of the German study. The study revealed that the main propulsive element of a Fake News article is the eagerness of readers, particularly the conservatives.
The report further stated that fake news allegedly helped the sitting united states president, Donald Trump narrow his win during the 2016 presidential race.
“Despite all the negative attributes to it, fake news is as popular as ever, especially on the right, with online trolls spreading hoaxes to propel right wing issues to a wide audience,” the report said.
Salon even pointed out how these kinds of news items can be profitable, especially for the publications that run them.
The website quoted a digital strategist saying that shared news of this Kind is a values statement. It reportedly does not count if the news is true or not, as long as it delivers the issues supported by a particular group such as right-wing activists.
The German study
BBC published a separate story about the experiment done by the German university. Researchers from the institution did the experiment by creating a fake news blog that shared news on Facebook, the article said.
According to the report, four fake Facebook profile pages were set up on where the fake news was shared. One of the fake stories that the university researchers shared even reportedly garnered 150 shares, reaching more than 10,000 people.
Every day, Facebook users see these kinds of stories posted online, mostly feeding them ideas that advocate conservative views.
The social media company has also addressed these issues through providing users with the power to flag down stories that they think are fake.
Fake news and Trump
United States president Trump has always decried that the media is biased toward his administration. To address these spreading “fake news” about him, he recently launched “TrumpTV,” NBC News reported.
“TrumpTV” is a weekly video posted on Facebook that talks about the economy, the stock market and what pro-Trump supporters call as “the real news.” For instance, NBC stated that the online video show will share more economic news every Friday.
The show has reportedly been shared to around 22 million pages and on Twitter as well. Reportedly, it is being funded by Trump’s presidential campaign team.
