Dzień Dobry.
twitter / @adamdharrell
Redesigning Media to Combat
FAKE NEWS
Everyone is talking about
fake news.
What fake news isn’t.
News that was originally
reported incorrectly, but
later corrected.
what fake news isn’t
Fact-based reporting from
a partisan point of view.
what fake news isn’t
News that you disagree
with.
what fake news isn’t
So, what is fake news?
It is verifiably false.
what is fake news?
It is verifiably false.
It promotes a particular political
view.
what is fake news?
It is verifiably false.
It promotes a particular political
view.
It impersonates respectable media.
what is fake news?
Is fake news really a new thing?
Is it really a problem?
the top-performing
fake election news
stories generated
more engagement
than the top
stories from major
news outlets”
– Craig Silverman
“
source – buzzfeed.com
And it’s a global one.
7 root causes that led to the rise of fake news
It’s an easy way to make money. Tell lies people want
to hear.
1
Veles, MacedoniaPopulation 43,716
BuzzFeed News identified over 100 active US politics websites being run from Veles.”
“
source – buzzfeed.com
I started the site for a easy way to make money… the revenue from a small site is enough to afford many things.”
“
source – buzzfeed.com
Est. 2 M vistors / month
$500,000 ad revenue in 2016source – adbeat.com
Dynamic ad platforms mean brands often don’t even
realize where they’re advertising.
2
The cost of counterfeiting digital media is really, really
low.
3
Sharing on social media is designed to be frictionless & fact checking takes time.
4
It’s easy to create excitement, or outrage when the truth
doesn’t matter. This leads to virality.
5
Filter bubbles make us less likely to encounter
pushback when sharing verifiably false information.
6
The filter bubble dramatically amplifies
confirmation bias. Consuming information that
conforms to our ideas of the world is easy and
pleasurable; consuming information that
challenges us is frustrating and difficult.”
“
Eli Parser - The Filter Bubble
It’s an effective propaganda tool for foreign states
looking to spread misinformation.
7
Which of these problems can we actually solve?
Breaking the business model.
No advertiser wants to be associated with a scam.
What Google Says“Users don’t want to be misled by the content
they engage with online. For this reason,
Google ads may not be placed on pages that
misrepresent, misstate, or conceal information
about you, your content or the primary
purpose of your web property.”
Yet, I can still buy
ad space on numerous
fake news sites
Ad networks need to take these new standards seriously by improving
verification and reporting.
We also need to hold brands & advertisers accountable for where their ads show up.
Public shaming works.
What about when it’s a government, not a business model driving fake news?
Don’t just fact check. Take active counter measures.
Spreading truth at the time of user engagement.
40% of people use FB as their primary news source
Making it easier for users to
report fake news.
Badging suspect content with “truth warnings.”
Passively fact check with tool bars & warnings
Popping the filter bubble.
Social feeds could be designed to highlight articles with contrasting viewpoints.
A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”Mark Twain
“
Redesigning
Media To Combat
Fake News
Improve ad platform verification
Hold brands accountable
Take active counter measures
Win at the point of engagement
Pop the filter bubble