Why fake news holds such allure
Rodney Sparks, a truck driver from Indiana, says the 鈥渇ake news鈥� debate today reminds him a lot of a book report he did back in high school.
His teacher assigned a book report on World War II, so he decided to interview his grandmother who was alive during the war and living as a 鈥渇armer鈥檚 wife鈥� in Indiana. She was married on the actual day of Pearl Harbor.
鈥淏ut when I turned it in, I got an 鈥楩鈥�!鈥� says Mr. Sparks. 鈥淭he teacher said 鈥榃ell, this is not what鈥檚 in the books,鈥� and my grandmother said, 鈥榃ho cares? I was there.鈥� They got me an F for content that wasn鈥檛 all 鈥榝actual.鈥� 鈥�
Liberty Writers News, Alex Jones鈥檚 Info Wars, and Ending the Fed are among a group of websites that rose in popularity during the 2016 presidential election. But these same sites have been called out as fake news, spreading lies and conspiracy theories 鈥撀爏uch as Pope Francis鈥� endorsement of Trump, Hillary Clinton鈥檚 supply of weapons to the Islamic State, and various murder-suicides of Mrs. Clinton鈥檚 staffers 鈥� without any of journalism's traditional fact-checking.
In Monitor interviews, fake news readers defend these outlets as alternative media that mirror their own rejection of the Republican and Democratic political establishments, as well as a mass media that underestimated and shamed their faith in Mr. Trump. Put simply, neither Fox News nor the conservative National Review go remotely far enough for these readers. Fake news sites are essentially the only outlets these readers say can trust.
Some fans insist on the sites鈥� integrity, but others say the facts don鈥檛 really matter: like Sparks鈥檚 book report, lived perception displaces accuracy.
In that way, fake news is the ultimatum of a political news culture that has increasingly focused on confirming readers鈥� own worldview instead of challenging them, experts say.聽
鈥淭his is exactly what psychology literature on the topic would say. We don鈥檛 want to feel uncomfortable, so we expose ourselves to select information so we feel good about ourselves,鈥� says Clare Wadel, research director at First Draft, a nonprofit that advocates for truth in the digital sphere. 鈥淲hen people on Facebook write 鈥楳y sources say鈥︹�� it proves they are not looking for objective truth in the middle. Sources that are 鈥榤ine鈥� will give me information to reaffirm what I already think.鈥�
The perfect launch pad聽
Critics blame the bait-and-click revenue system of today鈥檚 news for pushing the line between real and fake news. They also point to Facebook for allowing these stories to trend on news feeds around the world, misinforming voters at a crucial time, though both Facebook and Google now say they are taking steps to address the issue.
鈥淭he problem is that we are too credulous of news that reinforces our predispositions and too critical of sites that contradict them,鈥� says Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.
The combination of technology and partisanship created the perfect storm for these sites to take off, he explains. 鈥淔acebook created the platform and the election created the topic that would deliver the hits and shares.鈥�
Trump has encouraged the dismissal of traditional journalism, berating news outlets and journalists that are critical of him, from The New York Times to Fox鈥檚 Megyn Kelly.聽
In his latest Twitter salvo, he took on NBC News for its reporting on the Central Intelligence Agency鈥檚 conclusion that Russia-linked hackers sought to influence the presidential election in Trump鈥檚 favor.
When partisan slant isn't enough聽
In recent years, that many Americans live in partisan bubbles, opting for news outlets that reaffirm their viewpoints. But as the trend has accelerated, it has become more extreme. Outlets that have a clear partisan leaning, such as Fox News or MSNBC, are no longer enough for many.
鈥淔ox News Worse Than Liberal Media to Donald Trump,鈥� was titled last January.
鈥淲hen I saw Trump calling out the media, he was fighting both the Republicans and the Democrats,鈥� says Amy Davis, a hairdresser and mother of three from Orlando, Fla. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the Democrats; it鈥檚 both of them.鈥�
Bill Saks, a cabinetmaker from Riverdale, N.J., says he believes that the Republican and Democratic Parties own the mass media, and that both parties had something to lose with a Trump presidency. Fox News and forecast a Trump loss, whereas InfoWars and the Drudge Report predicted a Trump landslide months before the election.
鈥淲as it a fake story when The New York Times said Hillary Clinton was going to win in a landslide? When they said Trump cannot win because he has alienated too many people?鈥� asks Mr. Saks. 鈥淭he fake story was 鈥楬illary Clinton is destined to win the presidency.鈥� 鈥�
But fake news can have an effect beyond misinformation.聽Edgar Maddison Welch was arrested after聽firing multiple shots inside a Washington pizzeria last week. He believed a fake news report, circulated on Info Wars, that Democratic officials were using the pizzeria as a front for a child-sex ring.
Trusting fake news
Many fake news sites provide 鈥渄isclaimers鈥� and are surprisingly brazen. Under the large, all-caps headline of 鈥淣EWS YOU CAN TRUST,鈥� World News Daily Report absolves itself of all responsibility 鈥渇or the satirical nature of its articles and for .鈥�
Justin Alvarado, an emergency room technician and veteran from Los Angeles, says he reads WNDR because it 鈥渉as a good perspective on things,鈥� and he shares articles from the site鈥檚 Facebook page to help 鈥渆ducate鈥� his liberal friends. As he hears the disclaimer, Mr. Alvarado says he is not really all that surprised that the site鈥檚 news is fake. But he is also not surprised that people believe it.
鈥淣o one would publish news and say 鈥楬ey this is fake news,鈥� 鈥� he says. 鈥淛ust like CNN or Fox wouldn鈥檛 say 鈥楬ey our news is super biased, believe us.鈥� 鈥澛�
Empire News clarifies that their articles are for 鈥渆ntertainment purposes only,鈥� and National Report calls itself a 鈥減olitical satire web publication.鈥� But regardless of how clearly the sites identify their fiction, readers say they have proven accurate and feel true.
鈥淚 listen to Alex Jones, and sometimes I think he is out there,鈥� adds Sparks. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 kind of like when we were kids and it was crazy they had flip phones in the [鈥楽tar Trek鈥橾 movies鈥�. He鈥檚 a little far fetched, but so were the flip phones.鈥�
