Dave's Blog

I’m not sure anyone predicted this problem — sometimes the drawbacks of new technology aren’t apparent until later. But now we have to do something about it.

What’s the problem? Some people are getting what they think is news but it’s fake. How can they believe it if it’s outrageous? Because their head has been filled with outrageous things for years.

Many Trump supporters believe in a variety of things that aren’t true. For example, 40% of them believe that Trump won the popular vote — Clinton won it by (at current count) 2.83 million votes. Read this to find out what else Trump voters believe:

Trump Remains Unpopular; Voters Prefer Obama on SCOTUS Pick

It seems to me that if it weren’t for fake news Hillary Clinton probably would have won the election.

Here’s a breakdown of where people are getting news online:

News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2016

Millions of Americans are getting their news from Facebook. As far as I’m concerned, that means Facebook has to take some responsibility in ensuring that those people get real news. Maybe Facebook didn’t set out to be a news organization, but this is how people are using their site.

Everyone who can afford it should subscribe to a newspaper. We need to support organizations who have real journalists covering stories around the world.

If a friend of yours forwards fake news, speak out — don’t let it spread.

Other than those suggestions, I don’t have a solution to the problem of fake news. But here are 15 intelligent suggestions to start the ball rolling:

A Call for Cooperation Against Fake News