Category Archives: Fake News

Weve not yet gotten to Friday, but lets do a quick review of the week in Congressional Budget Office (CBO) news. This past Friday, CBO released a letter responding to a budgetary inquiry from the Ranking Members of the House (Jason Smith) and Senate (Lindsey Graham) Budget Committees. (More on the substance later).

Graham immediately went on Fox News Sunday and asserted The CBO says its not paid for. Its $3 trillion of deficit spending. Its not $1.75 trillion over 10 years, its $4.9 trillion. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki fired back, I mean, this is not a CBO score. This is a fake CBO score. The Wall Street Journal added a bit of conspiracy theory with an editorial headlined, CBO comes clean on the price tag if the programs are made permanent. And Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer returned to the fake theme, releasing a statement saying this is a fake CBO report because, they argue, any extensions of the programs would be fully offset.

Holy take a deep breath, Washington. What is going on here?

First and foremost, the CBO does not do fake. It does not conceal or come clean on anything. It does not opine on any piece of legislation. It works for the Congress the whole Congress, and by law is non-partisan in nature and does not make policy recommendations of any kind.

What CBO does do is (repeatedly) answer the question: What are the federal budget implications of x? In every case, x is the proposal written on the paper not what someone says about the proposal, not what someone wants from the proposal, and not what the proposal might turn into. Congress gives CBO x; CBO gives back the budgetary implications of x.

When x is the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) as passed by the House of Representatives, the answer was that it would raise revenue by roughly $1.3 trillion, raise spending by nearly $1.7 trillion, and raise the deficit (over 10 years) by $365 billion. Absolutely real. Absolutely their best judgment.

In the case of Smith and Graham, x is the BBBA with 18 specific changes (in Table 1) itemized by Smith and Graham. The answer was the same taxes, an additional $3.0 trillion in spending, and deficits higher by the corresponding $3.0 trillion. Absolutely real. Absolutely their best judgment. (And if Pelosi and Schumer were to send a letter specifying $3.0 trillion in policies to offset the higher spending, CBO would conclude that x did not raise the 10-year deficits at all. Absolutely real. Absolutely their best judgment.)

In each instance, CBO did not play politics, did not pass judgment, and did not leave anyone guessing what was going on. In each instance, CBO did its job. (Which is, of course, unusual in D.C. and confusing to official Washington.)

Stepping back, it is important to recognize that there is nothing new going on here. As CBO Director, I answered many a letter from then-Ranking Member John Spratt on the budgetary implications of alternative futures for the Iraq war. Other Directors had similar experience.

Ranking members write letters because they want to highlight policy differences with the majority. (Eakinomics walked through the policy implications here.) The majority wants to undercut the legitimacy of these differences. And both sides criticize, undercut, and hide behind CBO because it is easier than doing their job and taking the heat for defending their policy position on the merits.

Fake is blaming CBO for revealing something uncomfortable about your policy position.

Read the original here:

Fake News About the Congressional Budget Office - AAF - American Action Forum

Expressing concern on Monday that the departure of veteran anchor Chris Wallace would further radicalize Fox News, the hosts of The View asked if the channel is now just the Tucker Carlson Fake News Network.

Noting that many in the news media world were surprised to see Wallace jump from Fox to CNNs new streaming service this week, moderator Whoopi Goldberg asked her View colleagues how they thought the consummate newsmans exit would impact Fox News.

You mean QAnon News? co-host Joy Behar quipped. We can now call it Trump News. Just call it Trump News.After the liberal firebrand said that Wallaces 18-year tenure at Fox News almost gave the channel some legitimacy, co-host Sara Haines mentioned that it was a big win for CNN to pull Wallace away from Fox.

Guest host and CNN contributor Amanda Carpenter, serving as the token conservative at the table, asserted that Wallace was in a very difficult position at Fox News due to many of the networks opinion hosts and commentators downplaying the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and amplifying former president Donald Trumps election fraud lies.

But everyone in the media after we saw what happened on January 6 should seriously question who they should choose to elevate them to their platforms, the Never-Trump pundit declared. Because anyone that enabled the big election lie that led to destruction and the breach of the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 for the explicit purpose of interfering with the peaceful power of transfer should seriously rethink what they're doing!

Behar, meanwhile, said Carpenter should tell that to Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, the Fox News owners who are complicit in destroying America.

Eventually, co-host Sunny Hostin weighed in, praising Wallace as talented and a straight news guy who has always been very measured. At the same time, Hostin said these traits likely meant that Wallace was not well received by a lot of Fox News viewers.

Wondering aloud where the right-wing networks audience will get its actual news from going forward, Hostin pointed out that other hard news journalists such as Shepard Smith and Kristin Fisher have left the network in recent years. Additionally, she noted that two longtime contributors recently ditched Fox News over objections to Tucker Carlsons revisionist Jan. 6 docu-series Patriot Purge, which pushes the baseless theory that the Capitol riots were a false flag operation orchestrated by the federal government.

So to your question, Whoopi, what does it become now? Is it the Tucker Carlson Fake News Network? Hostin asked, echoing the sentiments of other media observers.

The rest of the panel would then question whether anyone else at Fox News would be able to push back against the networks increasingly extremist direction, adding that it can be very uncomfortable if youre a more measured person at the network.

They will find another person who will fill in the spot who will take millions and millions of dollars and go against his own real-truth politics, Behar concluded. Youll see. People can be bought, left and right.

Go here to read the rest:

'The View' Asks: Is Fox Now the 'Tucker Carlson Fake News Network' After Wallace Exit? - The Daily Beast

As Meta, formerly known as Facebook, receives backlash over its practices, an executive said that "individual humans" are blamed for spreading misinformation.

(Photo : LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)

Earlier this year, US media outletAxios interviewed Andrew Bosworth, Meta's Vice President of Augmented and Virtual Reality and its future Chief Technology Officer, about fake news and the platform's role in spreading it.

"If we took every single dollar and human that we had, it wouldn't eliminate people seeing speech that they didn't like on the platform. It wouldn't eliminate every opportunity that somebody had to use the platform maliciously," he said.

The future Chief Technology Officer of Facebook was asked what Facebook could do more to reduce those negative effects of misinformation. However, the future CTO's response to all platforms' technology is resoundingly contradictory.

Bosworth told Axios that individual humans are the ones who choose to believe or not believe a thing, and they are also responsible for choosing what to share or not to share.

Furthermore, Bosworth, who currently oversees augmented and virtual reality at Meta, is aware that some words can have negative ramifications, but ultimately, it is people and society who must accept the responsibility for what is said.

He said that he's uncomfortable in saying that despite his disagreement with what they said, he does not feel comfortable saying they don't have a voice because they do, and they used to spread misinformation.

Moreover, Bosworth shared that he and the rest of his Meta team are elated with the tools they have built to improve Facebook.

The truth is that Facebook users spread false news and media companies who create it. However, denying that Facebook or its algorithm is liable for spreading false info is at best untrue and at worst dangerous.

Also Read:Facebook Misinformation Generates More Clicks Than Factual News [STUDY]

In recent months, Facebook has received major criticism for false or harmful content shared on its platform, especially in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election.

In September,Tech Times reported a studyconcluding that posts on Facebook containing misinformation sources gain six times more engagement than those from reputable news sources. The same month, another report found troll farms spreading misinformation reached 140 million Americans a month before the 2020 election.

Ina Fried, the host of Axios on HBO, asked Bosworth whether Facebook has contributed to vaccine hesitancy. Bosworth cited Facebook's efforts to spread accurate information about vaccines.

Meta executive said that people can follow less trustworthy information they see shared by others on Facebook if they choose to do so.

"They are allowed to do that. You have an issue with those people. You don't have an issue with Facebook. You can't put that on me," he said.

Rather than being the result of social media misinformation, Bosworth characterized the spread of misinformation as a demand problem.

Related Article:Facebook Allegedly Enabled Ads Promoting Anti-Vaccine Posts And Comparing Vaccine Mandates To Holocaust

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Thea Felicity

2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Visit link:

Meta Executive Blames Users for the Spread of Fake News in Facebook - Tech Times

Fake news is rampant in the media now-a-days, but can you tell fact from fiction?

Below you will find three news stories, one of which is true and the other two are fake. Read the three news stories and guess which one is real.

Numerous arguments had reportedly broken out in the concession areas Wednesday among Lakers fans frustrated with the volatile concession prices in the newly christened Crypto.com Arena. As part of the naming rights deal for the Crypto.com arena, several concession stands are only accepting crypto currency as payments, leading to constantly changing prices. One fan said This is stupid, I was here 30 minutes ago and bought an $8.12 hot dog, and now Im back and a single hot dog costs $10.73.

Berlin's public transport operator BVG has introduced an edible "hemp ticket" which it jokes can help alleviate the stress of travel at Christmas and take the edge off Berliners' infamous crabbiness. The BVG says its ticket contains no forbidden substances and is made of edible paper drizzled with hemp oil which comes from the seeds of the cannabis plant, and "is said to have a relaxing effect".

A new study conducted by the University of Iowa found that employees who speak with a foreign accent are more likely to get raises and promotions. The study also found that people imitating foreign accents during interviews were more likely to get hired than candidates without an accent. It might be advantageous to use a fake accent to get hired, but it could prove detrimental in the long run when you have to keep up your fake accent after starting the job said study co-author Melissa Chamberlin.

Which story do you think is real? Click here to find out.

The rest is here:

Fake News - Guess Which Story is Real and Which are Fake - Mix 95.7FM - Today's Variety

WhatsApp is said to be testing a couple of features including a new in-app camera interface and allowing group administrators permission to delete specific messages for everyone.

As for the new camera interface, it will be available for Android users only. The camera will change the position of the Flash shortcut and redesign Switch Camera button. According to WhatsApp beta software tracker WABetaInfo, the WhatsApp for Android beta 2.22.1.2 update will add a circular shade to the Switch Camera button and users will be shown recent photos from the bottom left corner while sending or uploading an image. The new experience is not yet live for beta testers but is said to be a part of internal testing.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp group administrators may soon be able to delete specific messages for all group members to filter misinformation and spam common in regular groups despite long debates and criticism on the same. This feature is an extension of the existing Delete for Everyone feature that WhatsApp had introduced back in 2017.

The members will see a notice This was removed by an admin after a specific message is deleted by a group admin.

Features like ability to restrict members from sending messages to their groups and prevent members from making any unwanted group information edits and with the new feature members will be restricted from fake news even more.

There is no update on when these features will be live. Also, since reports are from internal testing users might see some changes in the interface when it is provided to the Android users. As for enhanced deletion features, according to WABetaInfo and WhatsApp for Android beta 2.22.1.1, the feature is coming at least to beta testers sometime early next year.

Financial Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Biz news and updates.

The rest is here:

WhatsApp may soon allow group admins to delete messages for everyone to curb spread of fake news, misinformation - The Financial Express

The PIB Fact Check has busted a fake news which was in circulation stating that there will be offline exam in all universities for semester courses.

The government fact check agency has warned students not to fall prey to such fake news and advised to visit official website of the University Grants Commission (UGC) for all latest updates regarding exams.

A public notice regarding offline examinations in universities is circulating on social media & claims to be issued by @ugc_india #PIBFactCheck: This public notice is #FAKE! University Grants Commission has NOT issued any such notice. For info Link https://ugc.ac.in/ugc_notice, it tweeted.

The Commission has on the other hand issued an important notice regarding the exam dates for the July 2021 semester courses that are offered by several National Coordinators like IGNOU, IIM-B, NITTTR and CEC.

As per the notice, the SWAYAM examination for the students, working professionals, lifelong learners, who have enrolled for the July 2021 semesters offered by them, has been scheduled for February 4 and 5, 2022.

Read the original:

UGC Notice On Offline Semester Exam In All Universities- The Fake News Busted - OTV News

The North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) said it has taken note of a message circulating on Whatsapp advising persons that the third dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine is available to anyone at the Paddock Area, Queens Park Savannah this weekend without a referral letter.

In a statement, the NWRHA advisedmembers of the public that this information is false.

The Authority said it continues to administer the primary third dose with scheduled appointments as stipulated by the Ministry of Health as follows:

Sinopharm to persons 60 years and over three to six months after second dose or soonest thereafter.

AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson to persons moderately to severely immunocompromised regardless of age, one to three months after the final dose or soonest thereafter. These persons must have a referral letter from their physician.

The NWRHA further requested that persons desist from sharing the false information.

The rest is here:

NWRHA responds to fake news regarding third dose of COVID-19 vaccine | Loop Trinidad & Tobago - Loop News Trinidad and Tobago

The 10th ASEF Editors Roundtable (ASEFERT10) wrapped up and placed a bold cooperation front on fighting against fake news between the two continents Asia and Europe.

The agreement was made after a range of discussions between media practitioners of the two continents during the two-day event hosted by Cambodia in hybrid format.

Under the theme Strengthening Cooperation between Journalists in Combating Fake News, the ASEFERT10 is one of the major side events of the 13th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM13) being organised by Cambodia on Nov. 25-26.

The ASEFERT10 consisted of two plenary sessions and a public forum.

According to a press release of the Ministry of Information, during the first plenary session, editors from both continents shared information, experiences and current state of the spread of fake news in their respective countries.

They also discussed and shared lessons learned and best practices in their respective countries in combating fake news and highlighted the significant roles and responsibilities of journalists in disseminating facts and credible information to the public; encouraging the public to be educated on media literacy; and to train citizen journalists to understand ethics and professionalism.

The editors of the two continents agreed that fake news is a global issue which is happening in Asia, Europe and the whole world. Fake news relevancy is occurring in almost every field, such as politics, economy, trade, and private life. It caused serious damage to the society and the daily life of the people, especially during the wide spread of the COVID-19.

In the second plenary session, the editors of both continents emphasised the need to tighten the cooperation between journalists and information officers, as well as government leaders of each country in continuing to strengthen and expand the mechanism of communication, consultation, and information exchange in a transparent and accountable manner. They also viewed that journalists and the government are the complementary partners, as the government need journalists to cover their work, while journalists need information to broadcast. Meanwhile, the journalists are required to strengthen their professionalism and ethics in order for them to regain the trust from the public.

For the public forum, the editors of both continents and the national and international journalists working in Cambodia discussed and exchanged experiences on journalism professional practices, information dissemination by citizen journalists, especially on social media platform and measures, including legal measures, taken by each country to combat fake news and promote the freedom of expression.

The 10th ASEF Editors Roundtable was a success and a proud achievement, with the aim of strengthening and expanding cooperation between journalists of the two continents and stakeholders in the fight against fake news and raising awareness of the importance of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between journalists in both continents.

The event was held under presidency of Khieu Kanharith, Minister of Information, and Ambassador Morikiwa Toru, Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Foundation, and attended by editors and senior journalists of print and broadcasting news outlets of the two continents. Chea Vannak AKP

The rest is here:

Asia-Europe anti-fake news cooperation urged to be strengthened - Khmer Times

The current election cycle shows how these distortions carry over to the level of national politics. Pakikisama can be abused to quash any dissent to the opinion of the majority, or to the groups authority figure(s).People raising grievances, objections, or even questions are seen as threats to group harmony. They must be silenced or expelled. The actual or self-appointed majority rallies around a certain narrative.They will keep the faith, even in the face of compelling evidence against their claims.Legitimate news and archival sources will be dismissed as fake, biased, or Westernized.It explains why so much money has been invested in pro-Duterte/pro-Marcos online trolling.Collective vitriol on this scale is meant to normalize fanatical support for the allied dynasties. Conversely, it is meant to break the spirit of the opposition by convincing its members that they are alone walang kasama.

Read more from the original source:

[OPINION] Solid states: Fake news, Filipino politics, and the excesses of 'pakikisama' - Rappler

Former "Real Housewives of New York" star Heather Thomson called out the show for creating "staged" and "faked" storylines.

Thomson criticized the show while talking to a New York Post photographer outside the high-end Japanese restaurant BondST in New York City.

Heather Thomson criticized "The Real Housewives of New York" in a recent interview. (Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

The reality TV star specifically called Sonja Morgan's engagement to Harry Dubin during season 12 "fake." Dubin proposed to Morgan while Luann de Lesseps was crying over her breakup with Jacques Azoulay.

"It was completely staged and totally fake," Thomson told the outlet. "It was a ring that Ramona was wearing. And she took it off and gave it to Harry to pretend that it was his it was oneupmanship."

RHOBH STAR KYLE RICHARDS SAYS DORIT KEMSLEY IS NOT SO GREAT AFTER HOME INVASION: PTSD, FOR SURE

"The authenticityismissing," she said. "The women were self-producing, and many storylines were forced and contrived."

Thomson originally left "RHONY" in 2015, but has since made appearances on the reality TV show.

Thomson did defend the women who decide to join the "Real Housewives" franchise and instead laid the blame on the "machine."

Thomson accused the show of creating "staged" and "fake" storylines. (Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

"Generally speaking, the women that join the show are not self-absorbed, catty, horrible people. Theyre birds in gilded cages. They go in there with the right intention, but then you get sucked into this system of what the viewers want," Thomson said. "These women are part of a machine that has awarded them and fed them for outrageous behavior. Its a career. Its their check. And they dont have other jobs outside of it. And so you become a product of the environment of what the fan is looking for.

"Lets be honest: Watching women behaving well and doing great things for each other doesnt make must-see TV."

Thomson officially left the show in 2015 but has made appearances since. (Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

She also blamed the audience.

"You cant really talk about the people without talking about the system," Thomson said. "Everybody has culpability in this the viewers, the network, the women on the show. Were all complicit."

Read the original post:

Former 'RHONY' star Heather Thomson says show's storylines are 'staged,' 'fake' - Fox News