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LA Times Misreports List of Fake News Sites Which Includes Reliable Conservative Blogs
As we blogged Sunday, there’s a whole sect out there attempting to blame fake news sites for Hillary’s electoral failure.
Facebook responded to complaints about fake news sites, as did Google.
In an attempt to distinguish fake or misleading news sites from legit sources, Melissa Zimdars, Assistant Professor of Communication at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, created a list of, “false, misleading, clickbait-y and satirical ‘news’ sources.” The LA Times published the list.
Sites like the The Onion and Clickhole, satirical news sites made the cut, and rightly so, but also included were The Blaze, Independent Journal Review (IJR), Project Veritas (James O’Keefe), Twitchy, and RedState. None of the latter are fake nor misleading, nor clickbait-y, nor satirical, and most of them engage in original reporting from time to time.
One person’s opinion on the matter wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) make much of a difference. But by publishing the (mostly) bogus list, the LA Times gave it legitimacy. It’s now being circulated through social media channels as the authoritative list on “real” news.
Professor Zimdars categorized the sites as follows:
CATEGORY 1: Below is a list of fake, false, or regularly misleading websites that are shared on Facebook and social media. Some of these websites may rely on “outrage” by using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits. These websites are categorized with the number 1 next to them.
CATEGORY 2: Some websites on this list may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information, and they are marked with a 2.
CATEGORY 3: Other websites on this list sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media descriptions, and they are marked with a 3.
CATEGORY 4: Other sources on this list are purposefully fake with the intent of satire/comedy, which can offer important critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news. I’m including them here, for now, because 1.) they have the potential to perpetuate misinformation based on different audience (mis)interpretations and 2.) to make sure anyone who reads a story by The Onion, for example, understands its purpose. If you think this is unnecessary, please see Literally Unbelievable.
LA Times Misreports List of Fake News Sites Which Includes Reliable Conservative Blogs
As we blogged Sunday, there’s a whole sect out there attempting to blame fake news sites for Hillary’s electoral failure.
Facebook responded to complaints about fake news sites, as did Google.
In an attempt to distinguish fake or misleading news sites from legit sources, Melissa Zimdars, Assistant Professor of Communication at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, created a list of, “false, misleading, clickbait-y and satirical ‘news’ sources.” The LA Times published the list.
Sites like the The Onion and Clickhole, satirical news sites made the cut, and rightly so, but also included were The Blaze, Independent Journal Review (IJR), Project Veritas (James O’Keefe), Twitchy, and RedState. None of the latter are fake nor misleading, nor clickbait-y, nor satirical, and most of them engage in original reporting from time to time.
One person’s opinion on the matter wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) make much of a difference. But by publishing the (mostly) bogus list, the LA Times gave it legitimacy. It’s now being circulated through social media channels as the authoritative list on “real” news.
Professor Zimdars categorized the sites as follows:
CATEGORY 1: Below is a list of fake, false, or regularly misleading websites that are shared on Facebook and social media. Some of these websites may rely on “outrage” by using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits. These websites are categorized with the number 1 next to them.
CATEGORY 2: Some websites on this list may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information, and they are marked with a 2.
CATEGORY 3: Other websites on this list sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media descriptions, and they are marked with a 3.
CATEGORY 4: Other sources on this list are purposefully fake with the intent of satire/comedy, which can offer important critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news. I’m including them here, for now, because 1.) they have the potential to perpetuate misinformation based on different audience (mis)interpretations and 2.) to make sure anyone who reads a story by The Onion, for example, understands its purpose. If you think this is unnecessary, please see Literally Unbelievable.
LA Times Misreports List of Fake News Sites Which Includes Reliable Conservative Blogs