User:Minzhe Qi/Fake news

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How purveyors of fake news operate

Fake news is a "deliberate and verifiably false news article" designed to manipulate people's perceptions of true facts, events and statements. Fake news may be created by individuals or groups acting in their own or third-party interests. For example, it is widely circulated online for the purpose of generating advertising revenue from web traffic or to discredit public figures, political movements, or companies.

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Fake news can be spread on a large scale because it can be easily replicated, simplified and requires very little expertise to operate. Firstly, fake news sites are the first step in spreading fake news and are designed to look like legitimate news sites. The second step is that the owner of the fake news site may create their own content and try to disguise it as real content. The third step is that the owners of these sites can earn a small amount of money for each visitor to their pages and slightly more each time a visitor clicks on an advertisement on the page. Finally, social media platforms provide them. Social media platforms inherently benefit from fake news, as shocking and popular posts keep users engaged. The more fake news sites an owner has, the more advertising dollars they can earn by displaying them, but the more clicks they need.

Reference

C. Silverman and L. Alexander, “How Teens In The Balkans Are Duping Trump Supporters With Fake News,” BuzzFeed News, Nov. 23, 2016. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/how-macedonia-became-a-global-hub-for-pro-trump-misinfo#.nfGBdzv3rN

BBC News, “How Do Fake News Sites Make Money?,” BBC News, Feb. 09, 2017. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-38919403/how-do-fake-news-sites-make-money

K. D. Coduto and J. Anderson, “Cognitive Preoccupation with Breaking News and Compulsive Social Media Use: Relationships with Online Engagement and Motivations for Use,” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 321–335, May 2021, https://10.1080/08838151.2021.1972114.

S. Vosoughi, D. Roy, and S. Aral, “The Spread of True and False News Online,” Science, vol. 359, no. 6380, pp. 1146–1151, Mar. 2018, https://10.1126/science.aap9559.