Category Archives: Fake News

The Great Wall of China is one of the seven wonders of the world. The wall that was built to keep out Mongol invaders is so massive that arguably it could be seen from space. But in China, there exists another less talked about wall, one that is far more effective in keeping out things that the Communist Party of China (CCP) does not want the Chinese people exposed to - Chinas Great Firewall (GFW). The GFW refers to a series of legislative and technological barriers that allow the CCP and the Chinese government to control the flow of information and regulate the domestic internet. China has over 800 million internet users and each one of them is subject to the worlds most sophisticated censorship system - The Great Firewall.

The GFW blocks access to multiple foreign social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and also does not allow access to the widely used online messaging platform WhatsApp. It also allows the CCP to block access to foreign media sources, further allowing it to keep the Chinese people in the dark and enables it to control how much and what exactly the Chinese people hear of the outside world.

The GFW is a major component but is only one of the components used by the CCP to monopolize information. A massive chunk of CCPs information control mechanism consists of disinformation, fake news, and censorship. These practices are rampant in almost all sources of information - from social media to television and even print. The internet and the advancements in technologies have given people access to news and information from all around the world, and when people can have accurate information about what's happening in the world, they can attain a better understanding of international events that impact them.

Wei Xing, the former editor-in-chief of Sixth Tone in his article Mike Pompeos Dad was a Hunanese Bandit' has explained how China has built its fake news machinery to fill the information vacuum between China and news from the rest of the world. In the article, he has stated that When citizens have accurate information about their country, it's only then that they can adopt a rational, open-minded worldview.

It might seem an admirable concept and granting free access to accurate information to citizens is something all nations should strive for. However,the case of CCP and the Chinese Government is different.

The CCP has ruled China for decades and holds a monopoly on power in China and wants to preserve its monopoly of power at any cost and thus views open access to information for the Chinese citizens as a threat to that power. Because if the people had free access to information from unbiased and international sources, the Chinese people would not be swayed by the Chinese government's propaganda. By controlling almost all sources of information, the CCP ensures that the Chinese people are not able to tell the difference between fake news, propaganda, and the truth.

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Hitting two birds with one stone: China develops fake news factories to fill the information vacuum and curb - DNA India

The problem posed by disinformation online is "increasingly serious", the BBC's director-general has said.

Tim Davie told the Radio Times that "traditional journalism has been playing catch-up in the disinformation world".

He added that this year has "repeatedly" highlighted the dangers of the online world as conspiracy theories about coronavirus and the US election were circulated on the internet.

"News sources such as the BBC need to work harder than ever to expose fake news and separate fact from fiction," he said.

"We need to take care that trusted news is not blown off course by claims that are unfounded, however widespread they become.

"And we need to recognise that we are up against the well-funded, state-backed actors who see news as an extension of state influence and a tool for disrupting our societies and democracies."

He added that it is important to keep up the fight against disinformation online as vaccines for coronavirus begin to be administered.

"As countries prepare for the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, the explosion of 'anti-vaccine' disinformation online represents a serious threat to public health.

"It's vital that news providers play our part to the full in scrutinising the science behind new vaccines and giving voice to legitimate concerns," he said.

"But it's equally vital that misleading claims and baseless conspiracy theories aren't allowed to derail attempts to bring this tragic global health crisis to an end."

Mr Davie said he is "proud" of the BBC's effort to "stand up for integrity in news and fight disinformation on the front line".

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Problem posed by disinformation online increasingly serious, says BBC boss - The Independent

After media reports emerged that Rahul Gandhi had left for Milan, Italy, on an impromptu surprise vacation in middle of Punjab farmers vs Govt of India farm laws tussle, Congress trolls kept themselves busy trying to refute these as fake news. Rahul Gandhi loyalist Saket Gokhale cried himself hoarse claiming that Rahul Gandhi has not gone for vacation.

Some Congress workers, however, quite easily accepted he was vacationing.

Foul mouthed Twitter handle of IYC Punjab, too chimed in.

However, the trolls were left red faced after Congress accepted that Rahul Gandhi has indeed gone off on a personal trip. While the party did not disclose the destination of his vacation, they have not denied Milan in Italy as the destination either. Congress also celebrates its 136th foundation day today.

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Congress trolls trying to shield Rahul Gandhi left red faced after party confirms Wayanad MP is on vacation - OpIndia

The word NEWS is made up of four words: Notable Events, Weather, and Sports. This Frech word comes was originated from the word in the 14th century. It is used as a way of constructing people feel connected. People from different regions, countries, ethnicities, races, and backgrounds get to understand one another. Beginning from the news related to sports, fun, entertainment, politics, the current economic situation of the country and till the full live coverage of a certain event happening news has made our lives easier. It makes you rich in knowledge- be it regarding what's happening all over the globe or what's trending in terms of fashion. News is whats keeping us aware of all sorrowful and cheerful updates.

Authentication and verification of news come in basic ethics of representing a news update. Your news may be of no worth if it is fake and informed to gain attention. To validate whether the news is fake or genuine - NewsGuard is a technology company that keeps a check on news sources. If it observes them be true, the news sources are marked green by the company as a sign to confirm that news is genuine. If the news is fake and just made up of false rumors- the technology company disapproves of it by showing a red sign on it. Giant browsers that include Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox: all of them are the browsers that support this news substantiating firm.

Recently NewsGuard provided a piece of information that said that unreliable websites were trending on the top this year - while spreading fake news. It is an alarming situation where giant technology organizations quality filter checks couldnt stop these websites from trending.

Additionally, NewsGuard explained that the news website known as: The Daily Wire was on the top of those websites that used fake content in its platform. The technology company also did an analysis of its traffic and compared it with that of last years and came to the conclusion that it has doubled since the last year. The news website is named Bongiono.com was successful in gaining 1700 percent more traffic this year.

"In 2019, sites rated Red by NewsGuard accrued about 700 million interactions. In 2020, 2.8 billion interactions more than four times as many came from Red-rated sites. As the chart below shows, that amounts to a 305% increase in engagement for Red-rated sites. Green-rated sites saw a 69% increase."

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The steady growth of unreliable news sites is an addition to the list of terrible things that happened in 2020 - Digital Information World

- Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has slammed numerous reports surrounding the suspected clamp down on Covid-19 restrictions

- Mboweni says that there has been an escalation of fake news recently, called for it to be 'punishable'

- This comes as the NCCC meets this week to discuss a possible tightening of the current lockdown amid a second wave of cases

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Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has responded to countless reports of a suspected tightening of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Taking to social media, Mboweni condemned these reports as fake news, commenting that:

Mboweni slammed reports on the lockdown as fake news. Image: GCIS/ FlickrSource: UGC

Mboweni encouraged South Africans to await the final call from the government, saying:

The National Covid-19 Command Council is reportedly set to meet this week and with the high number of infections recorded in recent times, it seems only natural that further measures will be put into place.

As things stand, there is no word on President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing the nation from the Office of the Presidency so it remains a waiting game to see what comes of the situation.

A major concern is the long term impact of another hard lockdown with the nation already battling to kick start renewal after the restrictions were relaxed.

Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament Dean Macpherson has raised a pertinent question over the Covid-19 lockdown.

When the initial lockdown was announced, it was explained that the restrictions were to build capacity in the healthcare sector.

Macpherson took to social media to question why, now that the second wave is in full swing, this capacity seems nonexistent:

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Mboweni responds to reports of hard lockdown in SA: 'Fake news' - Briefly

People with poor numerical literacy are more likely to believe Covid-19 misinformation, according to a survey conducted in five countries.

Researchers at Cambridge University said the findings suggested improving peoples analytical skills could help turn the tide against an epidemic of fake news surrounding the health crisis.

Five national surveys reflecting national quotas for age and gender were conducted this year to evaluate susceptibility to coronavirus-related misinformation and its influence on key health-related behaviours.

The study found the most consistent predictor of decreased susceptibility to misinformation about Covid-19 was numerical literacy the ability to digest and apply quantitative information broadly.

People in Ireland, Spain, Mexico, the US and the UK took part in the study. Their numerical literacy levels were calculated on the basis of three different numeracy tests.

Participants were presented with nine statements about Covid-19, some false (for example, 5G networks may be making us more susceptible to the coronavirus) and some true (for instance, people with diabetes are at higher risk of complications from coronavirus).

Participants were also asked about their risk perception of Covid-19, what extent they complied with public health guidance and their likelihood of getting vaccinated if a vaccine were to become available.

Overall, higher susceptibility to fake news was associated with lower self-reported compliance with public health guidance for Covid-19, as well as peoples willingness to get vaccinated against the virus and recommend the vaccine to vulnerable family and friends.

Some scientists think that susceptibility to misinformation is related to political views, while others think it is linked to reasoning abilities, study author Dr Sander van der Linden explained.

My take is that both are relevant. And I was surprised to see numeracy playing such a strong role here it was one of the single most important predictors, he said. I like that finding in a sense because it gives me hope that theres a solution out there.

Another distinct factor linked to belief in Covid-19 fake news was age, the researchers found. Being older was associated with lower susceptibility to misinformation everywhere (except Mexico) inconsistent with prior research that typically found the opposite pattern, at least in the context of elections.

It could be that older people are less susceptible [to misinformation] but theyre still sharing it more, Linden said, adding that they may also be less inclined to endorse Covid-19 misinformation because there is an incentive to be accurate as the elderly are the biggest casualties of the disease.

The research, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, also found that people who were more receptive to misinformation viewed themselves as minorities and appeared resistant to voices in authority such as scientists and politicians.

Political conservatism was also linked to a slightly higher susceptibility to misinformation, the researchers found, but surprisingly, this link was not as strong in the US and UK as it was elsewhere.

Dr Emma ODwyer, a senior lecturer at Kingston University who was not involved in the study, wondered why the researchers had chosen these five countries to survey.

There are differences across the countries, she said. This paper doesnt provide an account at the country level for why these relationships are different.

The paper also does not give as much attention to how or why misinformation takes root in the first place, said Dominic Abrams, a professor of social psychology at the University of Kent, who was not involved in the research.

Beyond individuals susceptibility there is the question of how and why some misleading sources can achieve an air of legitimacy.

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Poor numerical literacy linked to greater susceptibility to Covid-19 fake news - The Guardian

U.S. President Donald Trump blamed Thursdays global Twitter outage on a deliberate attempt by the company to protect Joe Biden, citing an obviously fake news story written in the style of The Onion.

Twitter Shuts Down Entire Network To Slow Spread of Negative Biden News, read the headline on the Babylon Bee, a Christian satire site. The fake story claimed that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had smashed up his servers on Thursday to censor an unverified New York Post story about the Democratic nominee for president and his son, Hunter.

Twitter did limit the spread of the story on Thursday due to its policy around hacked materials. However, there is no evidence that the story had anything to do with the Twitter outage on Thursday afternoon.

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Wow, this has never been done in history, Trump tweeted Friday morning, along with a link to the Babylon Bee story. This includes his really bad interview last night. Why is Twitter doing this. Bringing more attention to Sleepy Joe & Big T.

Its unclear if Trump actually read the story, which starts with Dorsey and several weak-armed programmers struggling to smash all the computers at Twitter HQ, and ends with a bunch of robots attacking all the cis white males in sight. The article does not include anything about Bidens town hall event on Thursday, as Trump mentioned in his tweet.

Critics mocked Trump for seemingly believing some literally fake news a term he often uses for real news reports that he does not like.

Its satire, writer Dan Fagin wrote in response to Trumps tweet. Satire is the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose stupidity. It worked.

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The Bees website crashed multiple times on Friday as Trumps legions of followers and critics flocked to the site.

The Babylon Bee describes itself on Twitter as fake news you can trust, and its homepage is filled with satirical headlines such as Trump gets totally stoned in lively 7-hour interview with Joe Rogan, and Amazons NewLord of the Rings series to include bisexual transgender elf in wheelchair.

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The Babylon Bee is the worlds best satire site, totally inerrant in all its truth claims, the site says.

The Bee celebrated Trumps error by sharing a link to one of its stories from 2018.

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President Trump declares the Babylon Bee his most-trusted news source, the website tweeted.

The story was originally written as satire, though Trump provided evidence to support its claims on Friday.

Trump appeared to blame Twitter for his error Friday morning in a follow-up tweet.

Big T was not a reference to me, but rather to Big Tech, which should have been properly pointed out in Twitters Fake Trending Section! he wrote.

Trump has renewed his attacks in recent days on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects social media companies from being held responsible for what others publish on their platforms. Trump has been targeting Section 230 amid efforts by Twitter and Facebook to fact-check his false and misleading posts about mail-in ballots.

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Section 230 protects sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube from liability for posts made by their users, including Trump.

If platforms were not immune under the law, then they would not risk the legal liability that could come with hosting Donald Trumps lies, defamation, and threats, Kate Ruane, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Associated Press in May.

Trump has a well-documented history of promoting conspiracy theories and other misinformation around the coronavirus, far-left anarchists, mail-in voting, his crowd sizes and Barack Obamas birth certificate, among other things. He has also been reluctant to condemn extreme views.

On Thursday night, for example, he refused to denounce the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, which holds him up as a warrior for God against so-called deep state pedophiles out to drink childrens blood.

I know nothing about QAnon, he claimed during the debate.

Trump made similar claims when asked about the group and its beliefs in August.

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I dont know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate, he said at the time. Ive heard these are people that love our country.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have banned the extremist movement from their platforms amid concern that it was encouraging real-world violence.

The U.S. presidential election is slated for Nov. 3.

2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Trump duped by fake news story of Twitter going down to protect Biden - Global News

(In paragraph eight, inserts dropped words)

CHICAGO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Two weeks ago, Mark Schultz was getting ready to go to work at the tavern he owns in the Wisconsin city of Oshkosh when he started to feel sweaty, achy and chilled.

Within days, the 64-year-old was in an intensive care unit at a local hospital fighting for his life.

Schultz, his 45-year-old fiance and his 10-year-old son are three of the 41,000 Wisconsinites who have tested positive for the virus over the last two weeks, according to state health officials.

I want people to know this is real. This is not a hoax. Its not fake news like the president said, Schultz said.

Wisconsin has recently become an epicenter of the pandemic in the United States.

On Friday, the states department of health services reported grim records as daily COVID-19 cases reached 3,861 and the seven-day average of new confirmed cases topped 3,000 for the first time.

This virus is unbelievable what it does to people, he said during a phone interview with Reuters on Friday from his home, four days after getting out of the hospital. I literally thought I was taking my last breath. Its like someone has a foot on your chest.

Despite the surge in cases in Wisconsin, President Donald Trump plans on Saturday to make a campaign stop in Janesville as he seeks to make up for time lost during his own bout with the coronavirus earlier this month.

Wear a mask, Schultz said to those who plan to attend. There is so many unknowns with this thing. That is the scary part.

For a second day in a row, the United States reported more than 60,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday as infections spike in all regions of the country, according to a Reuters analysis.

The United States reported over 63,000 new cases on Thursday and over 60,000 new cases on Wednesday, a level on back-to-back days not seen since late July and as total U.S. cases surpassed 8 million.

The surge in cases comes in the final weeks before the Nov. 3 presidential election. Trump has continued to minimize the threat to public health posed by the virus that has killed more than 217,000 Americans and 1 million globally.

The rise in U.S. cases is beginning to tax hospitals in some regions, with Wisconsin setting up a field hospital and reporting that in some areas more than 90% of hospital intensive care unit beds were filled as of Thursday.

The field hospital had yet to receive its first patient as of Friday morning, according to a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

Meanwhile in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said on Friday the state was increasing medical personnel and supplies as well as personal protective equipment for hospitals in Amarillo, Lubbock and surrounding counties, which are seeing a rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Deaths nationally remain fairly steady at 700 per day, but health experts caution fatalities are a lagging indicator that rise weeks after a surge in cases.

Deaths were already rising in several Midwest states over the past two weeks compared with the prior two-week period, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Reporting by Lisa Shumaker and Brendan OBrien in Chicago, additional reporting and writing by Maria Caspani in New York, editing by Cynthia Osterman

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REFILE-'Not fake news:' COVID-19 cases surge in Wisconsin ahead of Trump campaign rally - Reuters

By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency under the Union education ministry on Tuesday said it is lodging an FIR under the IT act for circulation of a manipulated and fake news which projected that a student who had failed in the National Eligibility cum Entrance test was actually a topper in the ST category.

It is, however, not clear against whom the FIR is being registered and the official sources said that it is being finalised.

There have been reports that a 17-year-old student Mridul Rawat who had obtained 329 marks in the NEET, results for which were declared recently, had tweeted to the NTA challenging his results.

Later, he reportedly received a fraudulent e-mail which confirmed to him that he had actually got 650 marks, as he had claimed and was the topper in the ST category.

This news is being circulated by some unscrupulous elements on social media and even some regional news channels which have been running it without seeking our version, said a government official. In fact, we got the students answer sheet re-checked and the results were found to be exactly the same as before.

This, the official said, was intimated to the student.

The NTA has declared the result after thorough scrutiny and assured all aspirants that the result declared by NTA is correct, the agency said in a statement.

However, it has been revealed on some news channels in social media that shockingly some unscrupulous elements are claiming that the results declared by NTA are incorrect- it added.

Referring to Rawats case, the testing agency said that the news is even being broadcast at local news channels in some cities.

The news is totally fake, fabricated and one sided only, the NTA said. The news channel should have confirmed this from NTA before broadcasting this fake news. In the instant case, a complaint is being filed by the NTA with the cyber security cell under the IT Act at Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

The agency cautioned that while all genuine grievances will be entertained, manipulated and fabricated cases will be viewed seriously and NTA will be forced to take legal action as per laws of the land against such candidates including cancellation of their candidature or other unscrupulous agents representing such candidates.

Candidates in their own interest, are once again advised not to fall prey to any unscrupulous person/agent/spokesperson promising them any favorable changes in their OMRs/results, else legal and punitive action, will be initiated against any/all such persons involved in spreading fake news and maligning the image and prestige of the National Testing Agency, said the statement.

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'Manipulated and fake': NTA rubbishes news claiming topper in ST category was given wrong 'failed' result in NEET - The New Indian Express

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Posted: Sunday, October 18, 2020 5:00 am

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Beware of Fake News On City Council Races Jeff RussellOdessa Odessa American

It appears that Kirk Edwards has become the CNN or MSNBC of Odessa when it comes to spreading fake news about our local city council races.

In his recent letter to the Editor, Mr. Edwards goes on a wide ranging rant about the Ector County Republican Party and other involved parties such as the Government Accountability Project. Mr. Edwards clear intent is to spread misinformation and mistruths about groups that are working to change the status quo in Odessa - a status quo that has greatly benefited the establishment over many years but which has come at the expense of the average hardworking, taxpaying Odessan.

He calls the Government Accountability Project a foreign group but in fact this group is led by Jaimie Tisdale, a 29 year resident of our city who owns the Wilsons Corner store at Pleasant Farms. A quick review of Jaimes Facebook page would clearly show her as the leader of this group and I applaud Jaimie for her relentless efforts to uncover waste and abuse in our local governments. Mr. Edwards clearly takes umbrage against any group other than his own group of insiders releasing information to the public or supporting any candidates that he deems unworthy.

Mr. Kirk then goes on to disparage our local Republican Party officials for their recent endorsements of local candidates which were carefully chosen and vetted by duly elected Republican Precinct Chairs for their work in the local party and for their adherence to core Republican values such as fiscal conservatism and a small and limited government. The duplicity of Mr. Edwards statements in this regard are surreal; he begins with accusing Republican leaders like Dick Saulsbury who make up the Ector County Republican Party Executive Committee as being part of an AOC Squad, while in the next breath he endorses and encourages Republicans to vote for JoAnn Davenport, who is an unabashed and vocal progressive Democrat running for city council.

Mr. Kirk claims that this imaginary squad has a nefarious agenda of being against economic development and infrastructure work which couldnt be further from the truth exhibited by the candidates that were endorsed by the Republican Party. Much in the same way that President Trump is continually attacked by the insiders who would seek to rule our country for their own benefit, these candidates are, at their core, Trump Republicans who understand that, as leaders, they must strive to meet the most needs of the most Odessans and not be beholden to narrow special interests like those represented by Mr. Edwards. It makes one wonder what Mr. Edwards will gain by promoting his block of big spending politicians?

My belief is that Odessa voters are smarter than to fall for a pack of lies and mistruths that insiders such as Kirk Edwards are promoting and that they will vote for solid Trump Republicans that will put voters needs ahead of the agenda of a small group of elites who desire to rule Odessa for their own benefit. My hope is that Mr. Edwards will leave the Fake News business to the real pros who constantly attack President Trump.

Posted in Letters To Editor on Sunday, October 18, 2020 5:00 am. | Tags: Letter To The Editor

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Beware of Fake News On City Council Races - Odessa American