Fake news

Fake news refers to "news" that is blatantly false or otherwise distorted in the hopes of getting more clicks by feeding people the headlines they didn't know they wanted, in the hopes knowledge that shamelessly pandering to an agenda often proves sufficient to suspend the readers' disbelief. Depressing amounts of clicks can be garnered from fake news, simply by virtue of it posing as 'clear-cut examples', which (if true) would lend overwhelming apparent support to one side of the relevant multi-faceted, emotionally charged and complex issue. While fake news is a threat to common decency, one must admit that it is more entertaining than most normal news.
Fake news, in the form of propaganda and conspiracy theories, has been used to promote moral panics about sexual anxiety as a tactic of fascism. For example, the "Black Horror on the Rhine" moral panic in which German propagandists falsely claimed that French soldiers of African descent committed mass rape on women in the Rhineland following World War I.How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them by Jason Stanley (2018) Random House. ISBN 9780525511830."The 'Black Horror on the Rhine': Race as a Factor in Post-World War I Diplomacy" by Keith L. Nelson (1970) The Journal of Modern History (42)4:606-627.
With the growth of the 24-hour news cycle, major media outlets needed to fill numerous hours of airtime, so in addition to "news", they added opinion, commentary, analysis, speculation, and forecasting often centered around media personalities. This left them vulnerable to the charge of being labeled "fake news" themselves as traditional "news" was programmed adjacent to "narrative journalism".
It is important to distinguish between fake news on one hand, and mere biased reporting on the other. Fake news denotes outright fabrication, while slanted reporting at least covers events which were not made up from whole cloth. Fake news should also be distinguished from yellow journalism, which may contain some truth, but is primarily intended to attract attention, rather than to inform or influence public opinion. Fake news outlets aren't just the equivalent of some leaflet guy ranting on a street corner. These are blogs, podcasts and shows which reach people in the millions — notably the young and poorly educated, unknowingly passing along the 'news' via social media — raking in tons of cash in illegitimately generated advertising revenue as a result.
This article documents fake news, clickbait news, distorted news, and satirical news.
==Impact==
Fake news has become an increasingly dangerous influence which helps sustain out-of-touch echo chambers on the Internet — and while that 'news' isn't real, the emotions that are stirred up are. Things move fast with debunkings consistently 'behind the curve' — and by the time people figure out that some news piece was actually fake, they've already moved on (but not before internalizing 'that thing they read' as wholly confirmatory of their fears and frustrations).
And to make matters worse, in the current 'post-fact' era, the term "fake news" has devolved into a snarl word denoting "real news which conflict with my personal beliefs". A champion of misapplying the term, Donald Trump is fond of labeling any and all news outlets that report on his actual behavior as "fake news". CNN is a common target, and it's common to hear the oft-repeated meme that the network is fake news, even if it's simply reporting on events.YouTube, Facebook and Apple shut down Alex Jones channels (Aug 6, 2018) CNN via Youtube. Retrieved August 16 2018. Note: check the comments section of the video; it's very, very common to see detractors label CNN as fake news even though Alex Jones' termination from major platforms is a real event. Additionally, in February 2017, Trump said "all negative polls are fake news",Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting. by Donald J. Trump (2:01 PM - 6 Feb 2017) Twitter (archived from February 6, 2017). with his supporters not very far behind. This nonchalant watering down of the term is highly irresponsible, further misleading the already misled into dismissing the very phenomenon of "fake news" as being, in itself, fake news. Trump's misleading use of the term has led to (other) authoritarian regimes using the term for news they don't like, including Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, Bashar al-Assad of Syria, the Myanmar government, Chinese state media, and the Russian foreign ministry.How Trump's 'fake news' gave authoritarian leaders a new weapon. By co-opting the term to describe any negative media coverage, Trump helped other countries explain away atrocities by Adam Gabbatt (25 Jan 2018 01.00 EST) The Guardian. In Egypt, under the Abdel Fattah el-Sisi regime, activist Amal Fathy posted a video on Facebook where she described being sexually harassed at a bank, and also criticized sexual harassment in general.Woman who criticized Egypt’s handling of sexual harassment jailed for spreading 'false news' by Siobhán O'Grady (September 29 at 2:21 PM) The Washington Post. Because of this, the Egyptian government gave her a two-year jail sentence and a $560 fine based on the criminal charge of "spreading false news".
===Fake news and phishing===
 has utilized fake news with malware delivery for many years. A link to "Obama SHOCKS WORLD with conversion to Islam" or "Donald Trump Dead From a Fatal HEART ATTACK!" is far more likely to be clicked by a victim than a bare link to http://lolmalware.hackedsite.ru/victim.php?email=youremail@example.com.Fake news can poison your computer as well as your mind by Kerry Tomlinson (February 2017) Archer News (archived from January 13, 2018).
Another form of fake news in relation to malware and cybercrime is the rise of counterfeit sites masquerading as otherwise reputable news outlets, with sensational articles ascribing a fictitious incident to a prominent celebrity often in relation to a "banks hate him"-style revelation where said celebrity is supposedly revealing their secret to financial success, luring potential victims to a cryptocurrency scam or some other get-rich-quick scheme linked to a series of international organised crime syndicates running affiliate networks used to traffic and profit from such scams.
==In the good old days==
In the world of journalism, fake news is surprisingly older than real news, as something resembling modern (truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness, and public accountability) did not materialize until the early 20th century. Before that, the main concerns of journalists were selling papers and avoiding libel lawsuits. The late 19th century saw the rise of "yellow journalism", marked by sensationalistic headlines, fake interviews and pseudoscience.American Journalism: 1690-1940 by Frank Luther Mott (2000). Routledge, p. 539. ISBN 9780415228947. Remember the Maine? In a sense, fake news can be traced back to various contestations over what was or was not historical fact, e.g., Plutarch's criticism of Herodotus' The Histories, as well as attempts at censoring the propagation of heterodox religious views within theocratic states.Fake News is Old News by Jacob Mchangama (August 25, 2017) Quillette.
The earliest newspapers in anything approaching the modern sense arose during the European wars of religion (1524 to 1648 CE) and tended to be highly propagandistic. Savvy rulers soon took to censoring them to keep the people from being riled up too much. Even savvier rulers read the accounts of both or all sides to be able to better tell fact from fiction.
During the 17th century, several American colonies adopted laws that attempted to suppress "false news". In 1798, John Adams and the Federalist Party passed the which criminalized false statements critical of the government. The Acts resulted in the arrest of editor of the a Democratic-Republican newspaper.Crisis in Freedom: The Alien and Sedition Acts by John C. Miller (1951) New York: Little Brown and Company.
Fake news, at least of the satirical variety, has an honorable history. The first satirical publication was the Polish Wiadomości Brukowe (1816-1822), which was shut down by the Russian Empire. The best-known English language satire publication was the British Punch (1841-1992). The longest continually publishing satire publications are the Harvard Lampoon (1876-) and the lesser-known The Yale Record (1872-).
The old guard of fake news consists of tabloid journalism. In the UK, this is mainly Daily Mail, The Sun, and The Express. In the US, this is mainly National Enquirer, Weekly World News (defunct), and Of course, the world's most circulated newspapers are almost invariably tabloids or "boulevard" newspapers, the word "boulevard" being a reference to their method of distribution. Unlike major "serious" newspapers that mostly rely upon subscribers, a classical "boulevard" paper would be sold mostly or exclusively via small newspaper and tobacco stalls, and as such, had to attract readers passing along the boulevard with big pictures, screaming headlines, crime, violence, and nude flesh.
Mainstream news is not immune from creating fake news. Walter Duranty, reporting for The New York Times, even won a Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for what amounted to fake news. He was the Times' chief correspondent in Moscow and wrote uncritically about Josef Stalin, including Stalin's plans for Ukraine in what was to become the Holodomor.'The New York Times' can't shake the cloud over a 90-year-old Pulitzer Prize by David Folkenflik (May 8, 20227:17 AM ET) NPR.
(Programs that make satire out of news like The Daily Show also call themselves "fake news", but aren't mentioned in this article since they talk about actual events. They also differ from satirical news such as The Onion, which are fake events for the most part but just for laughs.)
An inevitable consequence of discussing fake news with people that one might call the Wild Wild West alternative news source aficionados is the claim that "the mainstream media is the real fake news""Mainstream media is the Real Fake News!" says National Enquirer by Peter Sheridan (10:01 am Wed Dec 14, 2016) boingboing. or something similar.CNN is Fake News by David Shephard (December 13, 2016) The Bull Elephant. "Now that Dan Rather is retired CNN is the biggest propagator of fake news in the country." "Climate Change" being an example of their unfair fake news propagated by CNN. This seems understandable at first, given how sensationalist, poorly analyzed and balance-fallacy prone many major media institutions may be (especially television). The problem is that this tends to result in people turning their due cynicism of damaged institutions into paranoia, and obsessive rejection of all but the most extreme and even egregiously incorrect "alternative" sources.
==Reality bites the dust==
As the internet has grown, cash-grabbing fake news sites have popped up freely. 2015 and 2016 saw an unprecedented wave of egregiously false bullshit channeled through Facebook, Twitter and good old-fashioned FWD:fwd:RE::emails ("remails"). The phenomenon has become so bad that Snopes, whose sole job is disproving this type of bullshit, admitted they could no longer cover it all, as "the bilge keeps coming faster than you can pump".Can Mythbusters like Snopes.com keep up in a post-truth era? by Rory Carroll (Mon 1 Aug 2016 12.55 EDT
Last modified on Fri 24 Nov 2017 23.44 EST) The Guardian.
Unsurprisingly, flooding the internet with alternative facts has adverse consequences:
*In 2016, Oxford Dictionaries named "post-truth" their international word of the year.'Post-truth' named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries by Alison Flood (15 Nov 2016 15.00 EST; Last modified on 14 Feb 2018 10.53 EST) The Guardian.
*According to the author of , "I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me. His followers don't fact check anything."He doesn't even like Trump by Caitlin Dewey (November 17, 2016) The Washington Post.
*Communications professor Melissa Zimdars got so tired of seeing bullshit news that she compiled a list of "false, misleading, clickbaity, and satirical 'news' sources"; however, after receiving threats against her, she removed it.Want to keep fake news out of your newsfeed? College professor creates list of sites to avoid by Jessica Roy (Nov. 15, 2016, 6:18 p.m.) Los Angeles Times.False,​ ​Misleading,​ ​Clickbait-y,​ ​and/or​ ​Satirical​ ​“News”​ ​Sources Archived copy from November 16, 2016, including sources but without detailed methodsFalse, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical “News” Sources A description of methods without named fake named news sources
*There are innumerable examples of people believing this shit.Sarah Palin: "Invade The Czech Republic!" by The Daily Conversation (Apr 23, 2013) YouTube.r/AteTheOnion - Another collection of people falling for The Onion, but covers other satire sites including The Babylon Bee.
A powerful component of the spread of fake news has been "alternative news" sources, who exploit many people's due cynicism about major media outlets that often sensationalize, fail to adequately fact check, or oversimplify news. This exploitation takes the form of reframing those failures as complete uselessness, allowing them to insinuate their own sites as the sole source of truth, regardless of their own rather unconcerned attitude towards objectivity and fact.John Stewart on Fake News (April 27, 2007) Moyers and Company
After pushback against fake news, The Atlantic notes that many fake news outlets have taken to cynically calling professional media outlets "fake news" in order to make the term even more meaningless.The Cynical Gambit to Make 'Fake News' Meaningless: As journalists push back against hoaxes and conspiracies, media skeptics are using charges of "fake news" against professionals. by Adrienne LaFrance
(Dec 8, 2016) The Atlantic. This is on top of how the Trump White House found a way to perpetuate the narrative of labeling real news they don't like as fake news, according to a report by Business Insider:A suspicious pattern is emerging for how the White House handles its most controversial plans by Natasha Bertrand (February 17, 2017) Business Insider.The real threat of phony leaks by Callum Borchers (May 22 at 11:13 AM) The Washington Post.Scoop. Denial. Scoop confirmed. That’s business as usual for writers covering the Trump White House. by Paul Farhi (March 23, 2018 at 5:43 PM) The Washington Post.
Voilà, the press is now reporting the fake news that the White House provided.
===Mapping the partisan brain===
There's some evidence that conservatives are more susceptible to fake news than liberals.Why conservatives might be more likely to fall for fake news by Christopher Ingraham (December 7, 2016) Washington Post. Psychologist John Jost found that several personality traits were correlated with conservatism, the most relevant of which to fake news was "need for cognition"The Need for Cognition Scale by Anne Bost (Fall 2007) Center of Inquiry (archived from February 13, 2018). (enjoyment in critical thinking and deliberation): critical thinking was negatively correlated with conservatism in a review of 40 studies. In reference to his small study on bullshit,Misperceiving Bullshit as Profound Is Associated with Favorable Views of Cruz, Rubio, Trump and Conservatism by Stefan Pfattheicher & Simon Schindler (April 29, 2016) Plos One. Stefan Pfattheicher, a psychologist at Ulm University, stated that conservatives "are less reflective in information processing, especially when information is consistent with [their] own worldviews." Pfattheicher and Jost said that the differences were not about intelligence, and Pfattheicher further went on to say, "This seems to be more a matter of motivation to process information (or news) in a critical, reflective thinking style than the ability to do so."
All that said, this research is not definitive, and some researchers (e.g. Daniel Kahan) have not found any conservative/liberal difference.Ideology, motivated reasoning, and cognitive reflection by Dan M. Kahan. Judgment and Decision Making, Vol. 8, No. 4, July 2013, pp. 407–424. Moreover, it should be clear that this is a Hanlon's razor issue; even if conservatives are more susceptible to fake news, it would not be because they are malicious fake news mongers but instead victims of their own lack of skepticism.
==How to identify fake news==
*Content:
:*Lack of corroboration: A real piece of news will be corroborated by multiple sources that don't just copy headlines from one another. Twitter retweets, Reddit posts, and Facebook link sharing do not count.
:*Bias: If the editorial position of a site leans a certain way, they may be more inclined to create (or at the very least re-share) fabrications that support that leaning. Be especially wary of sources that support your own biases, especially viral posts from social media sites (Twitter posts that support your views are especially suspect); you'll be less able to identify the bullshit. A quality news story will contain independent views, not just reporting from one side of the story.
:*Story selection: Beware of sites that select stories that support a particular point of view. As historian Anne Applebaum writes, such sites "cherry-pick the news and emphasize particular details, to create anger, annoyance, and fear."
:*Comments: If the site allows comments, there may be helpful comments in the article that point out the article's spin or accuracy. Of course, there are unhelpful comments or comments that knee-jerk agree or disagree with the article, but pay attention how they're written, especially if they're consistent with the fake news' aims of generating outrage. This also applies to Twitter posts, though it may be a bit more difficult to review Twitter posts without an account.
*Presentation:
:*Ownership: If a website lacks disclosure about its ownership or funding, that is a serious sign of questionable credibility. Often, these types of websites appear to be "normal, local news sites" but mix "ordinary" information with highly partisan articles and headlines to attract people towards an extremist agenda, according to historian Anne Appelbaum.
:*Overhyped consequences: Real news sites will (mostly) not wrap their stories in claims about the IMPENDING GLOBAL DISASTER or the COMPLETE DESTRUCTION of a political figure. In general, the shoutier the story, the less you should believe it.
:*Appeals to emotion: The more emotionally charged a story is, the more likely it is to generate clicks. Nothing drives traffic like angry people resharing the latest "outrage" related to children. If an article makes you angry, double-triple-check it and also ask yourself about the article's intentions such as playing into your emotions and biases. People have an incentive to lie in order to make you angry or afraid.
:* "Truth": Watch out for sites that liberally use "truth" to describe their content. There is none to be found. For example, the two main newspapers of the Soviet Union were Pravda (Правда, lit. "Truth") and Izvestia (Известия, lit. "News"). People would often joke, "In Pravda there is no news, and in Izvestia there is no truth."The Editorial Notebook; Dear Pravda by Geneva Overholser (May 12, 1987) The New York Times.
:*Weird URLs: In particular, the (fake) domain .com.co is often abused by sites that try to pass themselves as legitimate news sources.
:*ALL CAPS: What more needs be said?
A 2017 analysis by researchers at Indiana University found that a small number of bots are responsible for the spread of much fake news on social media.The spread of fake news by social bots by Chengcheng Shao et al. (24 Jul 2017) arXiv:1707.07592v1
Fake news is known to appeal to several fallacious argument styles:A few simple tricks make fake news stories stick in the brain: People are more likely to buy in if the misinformation is surprising, emotional or on repeat by Laura Sanders (May 4, 2021 at 10:00 am) Science News.
*Sharing what's new (appeal to novelty)
*Supporting prior beliefs (confirmation bias)
*Tugging on emotions (appeal to emotion)
*Repetition (argumentum ad nauseam)
These fallacious styles often work because they take advantage of the brain's natural tendency to take shortcuts, known as heuristics.
==Outright made up or completely unsubstantiated==
These sites make up the vast majority of the clog in people's news feeds. Sometimes they publish truth; sometimes they publish discreditable nonsense. Everything they publish, however, supports their worldview and doesn't acknowledge any valid opposing viewpoints. Many former fake news sites are offline as of January 2018. If you still want to go have a good laugh at them, we recommend looking them up on Archive.org or archive.is.
They fall into two categories:
*Earnest biased/fake news: These sites earnestly strive to present fact-devoid rants about utter nonsense in order to push a specific class of bullshit, usually pseudoscience, conspiracy theories, religious ideology, or a political ideology. (The people behind these websites may earnestly believe what they preach. That fact doesn't prevent these websites from lacking facts altogether.) Scopie's Law applies.
*Opportunistic biased/fake news: These sites earnestly strive to get clicks, just clicks. If they push an agenda, they don't do it intentionally; these sites are utterly unconcerned with the truth. (Clicks and ad revenue aren't ideological; neither are these sites.) Opportunistic sites like these often invent plausible but utterly untrue (i.e. clickbait) headlines (e.g. "I was paid $3,500 to protest against Donald Trump") in order to maximize sharing on social media (and therefore clicks). Oh, and did we mention that they're just click-hungry advertisers?
===Jestin Coler===
Jestin Coler was the owner of several fake news sites under the umbrella company Disinfomedia, Inc. using his pseudonym Allen Montgomery.About Jestin ColerA Former Fake News Creator on Covering Fake News: The creator of the Denver Guardian and other fake news sites on the financial motivations behind misinformation by Jestin Coler (May 1, 2017) Nieman Reports. The sites included NationalReport.net, USAToday.com.co, WashingtonPost.com.co and briefly the DisInfoMedia's focus was initially on trolling the alt-right, with the aim of luring the alt-right into republishing the fake stories and thereby discrediting them. As advertising revenue increased, the focus began to shift into pushing the envelope. After Facebook changed its algorithm to slow traffic from fake news sites, Coler decided to switch the focus to satire. Eventually, Coler closed all of his fake news sites after concluding that despite the money he was not proud of what he had done and did not appreciate the stress. Coler's conclusions from the experience are:
*Money is the primary motivation for fake news sites.
*Both ends of the political spectrum are susceptible to fake news.
*"The idea of limiting speech is far more dangerous to democracy than fake news."
===Paul Horner===
In November 2016, revealed himself to be the writer behind abcnews.com.co and other unnamed fake news sites.Fake News Writer Finally Realizes Americans Take Fake News Seriously: "It's Scary'. But Paul Horner plans to keep writing fake stories anyway. by Greg Gilman (November 17, 2016 @ 12:24 PM; Last Updated: November 17, 2016 @ 1:17 PM) The Wrap. CNN.com.de was likely one of the other news sites, since Horner admitted writing at least some of the stories there and the both ABCNews.com.co and CNN.com.de shared stories written by the pseudonymous Jimmy Rustling. Horner partly blamed himself for the election of Donald TrumpFacebook fake-news writer: 'I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me' by Caitlin Dewey (November 17, 2016) The Washington Post. In an interview, Horner indicated that he did not understand the difference between satire ("humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices") and outright fake news that is designed to deceive.
===ABCNews.com.co===
:Site:
:*abcnews.com.co
:Specialties:AbcNews.com.co — Satire (Media Bias/Fact Check) (archived from 23 Nov 2016 07:19:46 UTC).AbcNews.com.co — Questionable Source (Media Bias/Fact Check) (archived from 15 Dec 2017 16:34:50 UTC).abcnews.com.co is SATIRE Real or Satire?
:*Outrageous political news
:*Attempts to make conservatives look stupid by sharing fake news
:*Posing as the website of a 
:*Potentially satireabcnews.com.co is SATIRE Real or Satire?
:Site is offline as of January 2018
:Why it's fake:
::Their address was given as the same address as the Westboro Baptist Church.Contact ABCNews.com.co (archived from March 27, 2017).
:*Headline: "Donald Trump Protester Speaks Out: 'I Was Paid $3,500 To Protest Trump’s Rally' "Donald Trump Protester Speaks Out: "I Was Paid $3,500 To Protest Trump's Rally" by Jimmy Rustling (November 11, 2016) ABCNews.com.co (archived from January 3, 2017). (authored by "Jimmy Rustling"That Really Rustled My Jimmies Know Your Meme; debunked by PolitiFactNo, someone wasn't paid $3,500 to protest Donald Trump; it's fake news by Louis Jacobson (November 17th, 2016 at 1:59 p.m.) Politifact.). This was one of the stories copped to by Horner, "And that's just insane. I've gone to Trump protests — trust me, no one needs to get paid to protest Trump. I just wanted to make fun of that insane belief, but it took off. They actually believed it."
:*Headline: "Obama Signs Executive Order Declaring Investigation Into Election Results; Revote Planned For Dec. 19th"Obama Signs Executive Order Declaring Investigation Into Election Results; Revote Planned For Dec. 19th by Jimmy Rustling, ABC News (December 12, 2016) ABCNews.com.co (archived from February 3, 2017). (authored by Jimmy Rustling; debunked by SnopesObama Signs Executive Order Declaring Investigation Into Election Results: Reports that President Obama has overruled Donald Trump's presidential victory and ordered a revote for December 15 are fake news. (10 November 2016) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "The Amish In America Commit Their Vote To Donald Trump; Mathematically Guaranteeing Him A Presidential Victory"The Amish In America Commit Their Vote To Donald Trump; Mathematically Guaranteeing Him A Presidential Victory by Jimmy Rustling (November 8, 2016) ABCNews.com.co (archived from February 4, 2017). (authored by Jimmy Rustling; debunked by SnopesAmish in America Commit Vote to Donald Trump, Mathematically Guaranteeing Him a Presidential Victory: A hoax news article reported that "millions" of Amish people were throwing their support behind Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. by Dan Evon (27 October 2016) Snopes.) (one of the stories copped to by Horner)
:*Headline: "Fireman Suspended & Jailed By Atheist Mayor For Praying At Scene Of Fire"Fireman Suspended & Jailed By Atheist Mayor For Praying At Scene Of Fire (September 6, 2016) ABCNews.com.co (archived from 6 Sep 2016 15:45:31 UTC). debunked by SnopesFireman Suspended and Jailed by Atheist Mayor for Praying at Scene of Fire: There is not a grain of truth to a report about an atheist mayor in Louisiana's firing a praying firefighter. by Kim LaCapria (6 September 2016) Snopes.) (one of the stories copped to by Horner)
:*Headline: "President Obama Signs Executive Order Banning The Sale Of Assault Weapons"President Obama Signs Executive Order Banning The Sale Of Assault Weapons by Jimmy Rustling (July 28, 2016) ABCNews.com.co (archived from February 3, 2017). (authored by Jimmy Rustling; debunked by SnopesPresident Obama Signs Executive Order Banning the Sale of Assault Weapons: Fake news reports that President Obama banned assault weapons and promised "large scale Homeland Security raids" to confiscate them. by Dan Evon (19 June 2016) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "Gay Wedding Mobile Vans Cashing In On The Legalization Of Gay Marriage"Gay Wedding Mobile Vans Cashing In On The Legalization Of Gay Marriage by Jimmy Rustling (November 3, 2016) ABCNews.com.co (archived from October 2, 2017). (authored by Jimmy Rustling, and one of the stories copped to by Horner)
:*Headline: "BREAKING: Capitol Hill Shooter Identified as Right Wing Extremist"BREAKING: Capitol Hill Shooter Identified as Right Wing Extremist by Kip LeSale (March 28, 2016) ABCNews.com.co (archived from October 2, 2017). (one of the stories copped to by Horner)
:*Jimmy Rustling's bio:Scalable code without bloat: DCI, Use Cases, and You by Jimmy Rustling (January 19, 2016) ABCNews.com.co (archived from October 2, 2017).
=== Activist Post ===
:Site:
:*activistpost.com
:Specialty:
:*left-wing conspiracy-mongering
:Why it's fake:Activist Post — Conspiracy-Pseudoscience (Media Bias/Fact Check)
:*Headline: "200 Evidence-Based Reasons NOT To Vaccinate – FREE Research PDF Download!"200 Evidence-Based Reasons NOT To Vaccinate - FREE Research PDF Download! by Sayer Ji (February 22, 2015) Activist Post (archived from February 26, 2015). (pseudoscientific bullshit; see the main article)
:*Headline: "HUD Wants To Make Living In A Tiny House Or RV Illegal"HUD Wants to Make Living in a Tiny House or RV Illegal by Daisy Luther (March 31, 2016) ''
Activist Post (archived from 1 Apr 2016 15:46:01 UTC). (Snopes respectfully calls bullshitHUD Tiny Homes Ban: A lot of anxious bloggers incorrectly surmised HUD was moving to make "tiny homes" illegal. by Kim LaCapria (4 April 2016) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "Sheriff’s Dept To Fine People $1K For Bringing In Food And Supplies To Standing Rock"Sheriff’s Dept to Fine People $1K for Bringing in Food and Supplies to Standing Rock by Claire Bernish (November 29, 2016) Activist Post (archived from November 30, 2016). (Snopes disagreesFines for Bringing Supplies to Standing Rock DAPL Protests: Rumors that bringing supplies to protesters at the Standing Rock Reservation could carry a $1,000 fine are accurate, at least according to the Morton County Sheriff's Department. by Kim LaCapria (Published: 30 November 2016; Updated: 1 December 2016).)
:*Headline: "Obama Calls Alternative Media 'Domestic Propagandists' "Obama Calls Alternative Media "Domestic Propagandists" by Kurt Nimmo (December 16, 2016) Activist Post (archived from December 17, 2016).
:*Headline: "The Establishment’s Plan To Divide: Donald Trump, Fake News, And Russia"The Establishment’s Plan to Divide: Donald Trump, Fake News, and Russia by Derrick Broze (December 15, 2016) Activist Post (archived from December 16, 2016). (Just read the first paragraph. If you didn't cringe, there's something wrong.)
:*Headline: "Establishment Media Declares War On Their Competition As 'Fake News' "Establishment Media Declares War On Their Competition as "Fake News" (November 15, 2016) Activist Post (archived from November 17, 2016).
:*Headline: "Sacrificing Children To The State Of California: SB18"Sacrificing Children To The State Of California: SB18 by Jon Rappoport (December 16, 2016) Activist Post (archived from December 17, 2016).
:*Headline: "The Truth About Mandatory Vaccines"The Truth About Mandatory Vaccines by Vin Armani (December 11, 2016) Activist Post (archived from December 12, 2016).
:*Headline: "How The Government Is Turning Legal Marijuana Into A Massive Surveillance State"How the Government Is Turning Legal Marijuana into a Massive Surveillance State by Jake Anderson (December 10, 2016) Activist Post (archived from December 11, 2016).
===American News===
:Site:
:*americannews.com
:Specialties:AmericanNews.com is a Satire or FAKE news website (September 6, 2014 2:07 pm) Lincoln Report (archived from June 30, 2016).
:*Ridiculously exaggerated pro-conservative news
:*Race-baiting for clicks
:*Possibly attempts to make conservatives look stupid by sharing fake news
:*Likely satireamericannews.com is SATIRE Real or Satire?.
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Video Leaks Exposing Hillary’s Ties To The KKK… Her Campaign Is Finished"Video Leaks Exposing Hillary’s Ties To The KKK… Her Campaign Is Finished (July 2016) American News (archived from 23 Nov 2016 07:21:08 UTC).
:*Headline: "Obama Demanded This Admiral Not Give Out Bibles, But His Response Is Going VIRAL"Obama Demanded This Admiral Not Give Out Bibles, But His Response Is Going VIRAL by Jeff (Feb 3, 2016) American News (archived from February 4, 2016). (debunked by SnopesObama Demanded This Admiral Stop Giving Out Bibles? President Obama didn't demand an admiral stop giving out Bibles; such claims are based on a 2013 controversy unrelated to the Commander-in-Chief. by Brooke Binkowski (Published: 3 February 2016; Updated: 3 February 2016) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "Obama Takes Down American Flag For Press Conference"Obama Takes Down American Flag For Press Conference (Dec 20, 2015) American News (archived from December 21, 2015). (debunked by Snopes'Muslim Prayer Curtain' in the White House? President Obama did not remove red, white, and blue decor from the Oval Office and install a "Muslim prayer curtain" in the White House. by David Mikkelson (Published: 8 June 2010; Updated: 12 January 2018) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "BREAKING: Obama Admits to Forging Birth Certificate After This Old Photo Leaks to the Public"BREAKING: Obama Admits To Forging Birth Certificate After This Old Photo Leaks To The Public (May 27, 2015) American News (archived from May 29, 2015). (debunked by SnopesForging Ahead (Last updated: 14 September 2015; Originally published: 27 May 2015) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "Muslims Demand Army Change Its Dress Code To Include Turbans And Beards"Muslims Demand Army Change Its Dress Code To Include Turbans And Beards (September 1, 2014) American News (archived from September 3, 2014). (debunked by SnopesMuslims Demand Army Change Its Dress Code to Include Turbans and Beards: The Department of Defense announced back in January 2014 that religious dress accommodations had been added to uniform guidelines on a case-by-case basis. by Kim LaCapria (Published: 14 October 2014; Updated: 6 October 2016) Snopes.)
:*Post title: "Plan Launches To Make Obama Addition To Mount Rushmore"This President Is Being Considered As Addition To Mount Rushmore (Nov 19, 2014) American News (archived from 21 Apr 2016 19:27:07 UTC). (debunked by SnopesPlan Launches to Make Obama Addition to Mount Rushmore: After Harriet Tubman's addition to the $20 bill was announced, a spurious old rumor recirculated claiming that President Obama's likeness is being added to Mount Rushmore. by Kim LaCapria (21 April 2016).)
:*Post title: "Veteran Was Kicked Out Of His Daughter’s School Because His Uniform Was 'Offensive' "You'll Never Believe Why This Veteran Was Kicked Out Of His Daughter’s School (September 13, 2014) American News (archived from September 17, 2014). (debunked by SnopesUniformed Veteran Kicked Out of Child's School: A misleading social media page claimed a uniformed veteran was kicked out of his daughter's school because his attire was offensive. by Kim LaCapria (15 June 2016) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "Top Marine General Now Risking His Career To Take Down Obama"Top Marine General Now Risking His Career To Take Down Obama (July 27, 2014) American News (archived from July 29, 2014). (not really)Did Gen. Amos Really Try to 'Take Down' the President? (18 Aug 2014) SpouseBuzz.)
:*Headline: "Resolution Passed in this County Forcing Citizens To Pay Slavery Reparations" (debunked by SnopesTexas Residents Forced to Pay Slavery Reparations? An unreliable web site falsely claimed that Texans were being forced to pay slavery reparations to black Americans. by Kim LaCapria (15 March 2016) Snopes.)
:*Post title: "Obama pushes reparations for slavery on all non-black Americans."Obama pushes reparations for slavery on all non-black Americans. Slavery is over and has been over for hundreds of year. Do you think we should have to compensate blacks for slavery? (June 9, 2015 ) American News via FaceBook. (debunked by SnopesSlave State by David Mikkelson (9 June 2015) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "ATTENTION Sadie Robertson In Major Car Accident, Please Pray For Her And Her Family"ATTENTION Sadie Robertson In Major Car Accident, Please Pray For Her And Her Family (Sep 18, 2015) American News (archived from September 19, 2015). (debunked by SnopesDuck Lie-Nasty (18 September 2015) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "RACISM: Black Panther Promises To Kill All White Babies"RACISM: Black Panther Promises To Kill All White Babies (July 5, 2014) American News (archived from July 9, 2014).
:*Headline: "Bill O'Reilly Saves The Entire Election… Proves The Liberal Media Machine Has Been Lying This Entire Time"Bill O’Reilly Saves The Entire Election… Proves The Liberal Media Machine Has Been Lying This Entire Time (October 2016) American News (archived from 23 Nov 2016 07:20:08 UTC).
:*Headline: "Black Man Murders White Family And Burns Their Home… Where's Al Sharpton Now?"Black Man Murders White Family And Burns Their Home… Where’s Al Sharpton Now? by Hank (May 23, 2015) American News (archived from May 25, 2015).
:*Headline: "Just When You Thought You've Heard The Worst The ISIS Is Doing, This Information Leaked"Just When You Thought You’ve Heard The Worst The ISIS Is Doing, This Information Leaked (September 6, 2014) American News (archived from September 11, 2014).
:*Headline: "Thug Refuses To Pull Up His Pants, So Cops Immediately Teach Him A Swift Lesson"Thug Refuses To Pull Up His Pants, So Cops Immediately Teach Him A Swift Lesson (July 2014) American News (archived from 23 Nov 2016 07:19:51 UTC).
===CNN.com.de===
::Not to be confused with the real CNN which once saw better days. (Also, discount whatever Trump said about the real CNN.)
:Site:
:*cnn.com.de
:Specialities:Cnn.com.de — Questionable Source (Media Bias/Fact Check)cnn.com.de is SATIRE Real or Satire?
:*Posing as a real news website with much better quality than ABCNews.com.co
:*Author "Jimmy Rustling",Jimmy Rustling, CNN CNN.com.de (archived from September 17, 2016). who also writes for ABCNews.com.co
:*May be a satirical websitecnn.com.de is SATIRE Real or Satire.
:Site is offline as of January 2018
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Twitter Deletes Donald Trump’s Twitter Account: 'We Will Not Tolerate Racism & Hate' "Twitter Deletes Donald Trump’s Twitter Account: “We Will Not Tolerate Racism & Hate” by Jimmy Rustling (January 9, 2017) CNN.com.de (archived from January 10, 2017).Not only did it not happen, this "news" was quoted by a Portuguese newspaper formerly of good quality but that in the last few years has gone down the CNN route, another Portuguese (sister) newspaper not as well regarded, and a Portuguese news magazine sister to a tabloid.
:*Headline: "Donald Trump Says The Earth Is Flat"Donald Trump Says The Earth Is Flat by Eric Plair (October 31, 2016) CNN.com.de (archived from 27 Nov 2016 18:38:53 UTC). (debunked by SnopesDid Donald Trump Say the Earth Is Flat? Rumors that the President-elect believes the world is flat originated from a hoax and satire web site. by Dan Evon (13 December 2016) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "Donald Trump Signs Executive Order Which Cancels Saturday Night Live"Donald Trump Signs Executive Order Which Cancels Saturday Night Live by Jimmy Rustling (April 21, 2017) CNN.com.de (archived from April 24, 2017).
:*Headline: "Trump To Build World's Largest Stadium Around Section Of Wall For 'Mexican Gladiator Battles': 'If They Make It Over My Wall, They Can Stay' "Trump To Build World’s Largest Stadium Around Section Of Wall For “Mexican Gladiator Battles”: "If They Make It Over My Wall, They Can Stay" by Jimmy Rustling (February 6, 2017) CNN.com.de (archived from February 8, 2017).
:*Headline: "Obama Signs Executive Order Banning The National Anthem At All Sporting Events Nationwide"Obama Signs Executive Order Banning The National Anthem At All Sporting Events Nationwide by Jimmy Rustling (October 26, 2016) CNN.com.de (archived from October 28, 2016). (one of the stories copped to by Horner)
:*Headline: "Donald Trump Signs Executive Order Banning The Pledge Of Allegiance In Schools Nationwide: 'Needs More God' "Donald Trump Signs Executive Order Banning The Pledge Of Allegiance In Schools Nationwide: "Needs More God" by Jimmy Rustling (February 4, 2017) 'CNN.com.de (archived from February 4, 2017).
:*Content: "Fappy The Anti-Masturbation Dolphin, a mascot for a Christian organization that travels around the country educating children about the dangers and consequences of masturbation, told CNN he believes what Trump is doing is the right thing."Donald Trump To Build The Wall Out Of Homes For American War Veterans by Jimmy Rustling (February 11, 2017) CNN.com.de (archived from February 18, 2017). (debunked by SnopesChristian Anti-Masturbation’s Mascot “Fappy” Arrested for Public Masturbation? Fappy the Anti-Masturbation Dolphin was not arrested for swimming naked at SeaWorld, because such a mascot does not exist. by Dan Evon (Published: 16 November 2015; Updated: 8 November 2017) Snopes.)
===The Daily Stormer===
:Sites:
::dailystormer.name
:Specialties:Daily Stormer entry, Media Bias/Fact Check 12 December 2021. "Overall, we rate the Daily Stormer Questionable based on Extreme Right Bias, promotion of propaganda and conspiracies, as well as simply being a vile hate group. This source is not worthy of a click."
:*Being neo-Nazi propaganda
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Kanye Knows About the Jews and He’s Building a Database"Kanye Knows About the Jews and He’s Building a Database by Andrew Anglin (15 February 2022) The Daily Stormer.
:*Headline: "UN Falsely Claims 'The Holocaust is Not a Myth'"UN Falsely Claims “The Holocaust is Not a Myth” by Elvis Dunderhoff (10 February 2022) The Daily Stormer.
:*Headline: "GOP Pushing Anal Agenda with Vaxy Gaynigger"GOP Pushing Anal Agenda with Vaxy Gaynigger by Andrew Anglin (9 February 2022) The Daily Stormer.
:*Headline: "Mentally Ill Tranny Ruins Family Christmas, Posts Terrorist Attack on Own Family on Internet"Mentally Ill Tranny Ruins Family Christmas, Posts Terrorist Attack on Own Family on Internet by Andrew Anglin (28 December 2021) The Daily Stormer.
:*Headline: "Project Veritas Gets NYT Jewporter to Say Feds Were All Over on January 6, Fellow Journalists are Liars"Project Veritas Gets NYT Jewporter to Say Feds Were All Over on January 6, Fellow Journalists are Liars by Andrew Anglin (10 March 2022) The Daily Stormer.
===GlobalResearch===
:Sites:
:*globalresearch.ca
:*globalresearch.org
:Specialties:Global Research — Conspiracy/Pseudoscience (Media Bias/Fact Check)
:*Anti-"globalist", anti-war (to the point that they find globalist pro-war shills in every nook and cranny)
:*Anti-mainstream media
:*Genocide denial and conspiracy theories about NATO, ICJ, ICTY, Balkan Wars and Bosnian and Kosovo Muslims.
:Why it's fake/distorted:
:*Headline: "The Srebrenica Massacre was a Gigantic Political Fraud"The Srebrenica Massacre was a Gigantic Political Fraud by Edward Herman and John Robles (February 01, 2013) GlobalResearch (archived from February 5, 2013).
:*Headline: "The FDA and Big Pharma's Latest Killer Agenda: Destroy Homeopathic Medicine"The FDA and Big Pharma’s Latest Killer Agenda: Destroy Homeopathic Medicine by Joachim Hagopian (June 11, 2015) GlobalResearch (archived from June 15, 2015).
:*Headline: " 'Depopulation Vaccine' in Kenya and Beyond""Depopulation Vaccine" in Kenya and Beyond by Jon Rappoport (November 11, 2014) GlobalResearch (archived from November 15, 2014). (debunked by SnopesIs Tetanus Vaccine Spiked with Sterilization Chemicals? Catholic bishops in Kenya asserted that a tetanus vaccine campaign was really a secret effort to sterilize young women. by David Mikkelson (Published: 10 November 2014; Updated: 18 April 2018) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "Is the WHO Using Vaccines to Secretly Sterilize Women All Over the Globe?"Is the WHO Using Vaccines to Secretly Sterilize Women All Over the Globe? by Michael Snyder (November 12, 2014) GlobalResearch (archived from November 14, 2014). (No.)
:*Headline: " 'Mass Sterilization': Kenyan Doctors Find Anti-fertility Agent in UN Tetanus Vaccine""Mass Sterilization": Kenyan Doctors Find Anti-fertility Agent in UN Tetanus Vaccine by Brian Shilhavy (February 17, 2015) GlobalResearch (archived from February 19, 2015). (still debunked)
:*Headline: "Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) – Planned Sterilization of Humanity?"Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) – Planned Sterilization of Humanity? by Peter Koenig (March 01, 2016) GlobalResearch (archived from March 1, 2016).
:*Headline: "The Walls Are Crumbling Down Around the 'Official 9/11 Story' – Why?"The Walls Are Crumbling Down Around the “Official 9/11 Story” – Why? by Jeffrey Berwick (August 06, 2014) GlobalResearch (archived from August 8, 2014).
:*Headline: "BREAKING: 'US used Nukes on Iraq, Afghanistan': Atomic bomb dropped on Tora Bora: Expert"BREAKING: ‘US used Nukes on Iraq, Afghanistan’: Atomic bomb dropped on Tora Bora: Expert (December 01, 2011) GlobalResearch (archived from January 17, 2013).
:*Headline: "America Created Al-Qaeda and the ISIS Terror Group"America Created Al-Qaeda and the ISIS Terror Group by Garikai Chengu (September 19, 2014) GlobalResearch (archived from September 20, 2014). (Though there is some truth to the headline.)
:*Headline: "Unlimited War! ISIS Psyop Theater Comes to Full Fruition"Unlimited War! ISIS Psyop Theater Comes to Full Fruition by Bernie Suarez (February 16, 2015) GlobalResearch (archived from February 18, 2015).
:*Headline: "The State and Local Bases of Zionist Power in America"The State and Local Bases of Zionist Power in America by James Petras (September 03, 2010) GlobalResearch (archived from January 23, 2013).
:*Headline: "Earth Day, Geo-Engineering and Chemtrails"Earth Day, Geo-Engineering and Chemtrails by Michael Welch (April 25, 2015) GlobalResearch (archived from April 28, 2015).
:*Headline: "HAARP: Secret Weapon Used For Weather Modification, Electromagnetic Warfare"HAARP: Secret Weapon Used For Weather Modification, Electromagnetic Warfare by Fred Burks (August 02, 2010) GlobalResearch (archived from November 13, 2012).
:*Headline: "Fluoride: Killing Us Softly"Fluoride: Killing Us Softly by Gary Null (December 05, 2013) GlobalResearch (archived from December 9, 2013). (Our precious bodily fluids!)
===InfoWars and PrisonPlanet===
:Sites:
:*infowars.com
:*prisonplanet.com
:Specialties:Infowars-Alex Jones Conspiracy/Pseudoscience (Media Bias/Fact Check)Prison Planet — Conspiracy/Pseudoscience (Media Bias/Fact Check)
:*Fake or distorted news/clickbait from an anti-government, anti-"globalist", and generally pro-conspiracist stance
:*ALL CAPS HEADLINES (lowercased below for legibility)
:Why it's fake/distorted:
:*Headline: "Why Feds Are Banning Fireplaces And Wood Stoves: Feds attempting to regulate human activity out of existence"Why Feds Are Banning Fireplaces And Wood Stoves: Feds attempting to regulate human activity out of existence by Alex Jones (November 20, 2016) InfoWars (archived from August 29, 2016).
:*Headline: "Video: ‘Black Lives Matter’ Rioters Target Whites For Beat Downs"Video: ‘Black Lives Matter’ Rioters Target Whites For Beat Downs: "They beating up all the white people" by Paul Joseph Watson (August 14, 2016) InfoWars (archived from August 14, 2016). (debunked by SnopesVideo: Black Protesters Targeted Whites in Milwaukee? The origins of an edited video claiming to show black protesters hunting down and beating whites in Milwaukee are murky. by Bethania Palma (Published: 15 August 2016; Updated: 16 August 2016) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "Alex Jones Harassed & Threatened With a Gun For Supporting Trump"Alex Jones Harassed & Threatened With a Gun For Supporting Trump: Alex Jones was threatened with a gun by a butt-hurt Hillary supporter in Austin (November 19, 2016) InfoWars (archived from November 29, 2016). — And not because of the fact that he's Alex Jones? Find that hard to believe.
:*Headline: "Proof: Wholesome Americana Thrives Despite Increasingly Vicious Left: Smalltown America is alive and well"Proof: Wholesome Americana Thrives Despite Increasingly Vicious Left: Smalltown America is alive and well by Alex Jones (November 20, 2016) Infowars (archived from November 29, 2016). — Yes, those down to Earth, sane infowarriors that enjoy "honorable traditions" such as harassing gay and trans people. Damn those sick leftists, they're ruining America.
:*Headline: "Soros & Hillary Launch Purple Revolution Against Trump: Globalists try to usurp power from the people"Soros & Hillary Launch Purple Revolution Against Trump: Globalists try to usurp power from the people by (November 18, 2016) Infowars (archived from November 29, 2016).
:*Headline: "Dems Declare War On Free Press: Big Government Libs Trying To Control Access To Information"Dems Declare War On Free Press: Big Government Libs Trying To Control Access To Information by Alex Jones (November 18, 2016) Infowars.com (archived from December 15, 2016). Because big-government Cons never try to hide things from the public.
:*Headline: "Shock Video: Police Force 80-Year-Old Italian Hotel Owner To House African Migrants: Government Confiscates Private Property To Accommodate 'Refugees' "Shock Video: Police Force 80-Year-Old Italian Hotel Owner To House African Migrants: Government Confiscates Private Property To Accommodate 'Refugees' by Paul Joseph Watson (November 18, 2016) Infowars.com (Archived from November 29, 2016).
:*Headline: "Clintons Begging Trump to Stop Investigation of Hillary Through Chelsea: Trump Must Drain the Clinton Crime Family with the Rest of The Swamp"Clintons Begging Trump to Stop Investigation of Hillary Through Chelsea: Trump Must Drain the Clinton Crime Family with the Rest of The Swamp (November 17, 2016) Infowars.com (archived from November 29, 2016).
:*Headline: "Clinton Campaign Admits Making False Claims Against Trump Print: Campaign intentionally conspires to deceive public"Clinton Campaign Admits Making False Claims Against Trump Print: Campaign intentionally conspires to deceive public by Kit Daniels (Oct. 25, 2016) Prison Planet.com (archived from December 17, 2016).
:*Tweet: "New York Times warns Hillary campaign in advance of stories they are about to publish."New York Times warns Hillary campaign in advance of stories they are about to publish. by Paul Joseph Watson (8:33 AM - 14 Oct 2016) Twitter (archived from January 31, 2017). (debunked by SnopesNew York Times ‘Warns’ Clinton Campaign About Stories in Advance? The New York Times was abiding by standard journalistic practice in contacting the Clinton campaign about a story they were publishing. by Bethania Palma (14 October 2016) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "Drunk Driver Blames Crash on Trump"Drunk Driver Blames Crash on Trump: Driver slammed into two cars at red light, arrested with blood alcohol content four times over legal limit (November 15, 2016) Infowars.com (archived from November 16, 2016).
:*Headline: "Breaking: Internal Coup In Clinton Camp Will Ruin Her"Breaking: Internal Coup In Clinton Camp Will Ruin Her (November 02, 2016) Prison Planet (archived from November 5, 2016).
:*Headline: "Expert: Chemtrails Could Wipe Out Humanity"Expert: Chemtrails Could Wipe Out Humanity. Chemicals in jet exhaust could cause Biblical-style flooding, expert warns by Fiona Miller (November 15, 2016) Infowars.com (archived from November 29, 2016).
:*Headline: "Obama Pushes 'Fake News' Talking Point; It's a 'Threat To Democracy' "Obama Pushes 'Fake News' Talking Point; It's A 'Threat To Democracy': "It's packaged very well, and it looks the same." by Steve Watson (November 18, 2016) Infowars.com (archived from November 29, 2016). (Or: "Uh oh! Obama is on to us!")
:*Headline: "Alex Jones: The Media is a Joke, We Have Won: Masters of Fake News Attempt to Smear Real Independent Journalism"Alex Jones: The Media is a Joke, We Have Won: Masters of fake news attempt to smear real independent journalism by Alex Jones (November 17, 2016) Infowars.com (archived from November 29, 2016). ("…With Our Help!")
:*Headline: "The Mainstream Media's 'Fake News' Narrative Is Already Beginning To Collapse"The Mainstream Media's "Fake News" Narrative is Already Beginning to Collapse. Quantcast restores Infowars, blacklist of "fake news websites" removed by Paul Joseph Watson (November 18, 2016) Infowars.com (archived from November 29, 2016).
:*Headline: "Dems Pushing Pardons For Hillary & Illegals"Dems Pushing Pardons for Hillary & Illegals: Lawbreakers unite under Obama by David Knight (November 18, 2016) Infowars.com (archived from December 7, 2016).
:*Headline: "DISGRACEFUL. Michael Shannon To Trump Supporters: It's Time To Die"DISGRACEFUL. Michael Shannon To Trump Supporters: It’s Time To Die by Twitchy (November 18, 2016) Prison Planet (archived from August 18, 2018).
:*Headline: "Fake News Alert: Bloomberg Editor Creates Libelous Trump Tweet Out of Thin Air!" — Oh, the irony!Fake News Alert: Bloomberg Editor Creates Libelous Trump Tweet Out of Thin Air! Article cites bogus, non-existent tweet from Trump admitting he "cheated more than 6,000 students" by Adan Salazar (November 19, 2016) Infowars.com (archived from November 29, 2016).
=== International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State === 
:Sites:
:*itccs.org
:*kevinannett.com
:*americannationalmilitia.com
:*republicofkanata.com
:Specialties:
:*Conspiracies theories about upper-level members of governmental and religious institutions
:*Attempting to enforce common law through a website
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "International Arrest Warrant issued against Pope Francis I, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, for Crimes against Humanity and Child Trafficking"International Arrest Warrant issued against Pope Francis I, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, for Crimes against Humanity and Child Trafficking (March 15, 2013) itccs (archived from March 18, 2013).
:*Document: Totally-legit personally-written arrest warrant for "Pope Francis I"To: The Common Law Peace Officers and other Agents of this Court, and to All Citizens of Italy, Argentina and other Countries ICLCJ Warrant 0002 - 31513 (archived from 7 Jul 2013 13:20:25 UTC).
:*Headline: "The United Church of Canada is Insane, and other Spiritual Reflections by Kevin D. Annett"The United Church of Canada is Insane, and other Spiritual Reflections by Kevin D. Annett by kevin (November 19, 2014) KevinAnnett.com (archived from February 11, 2018).
:*Headline: "Reverend Kevin Annett is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize"Reverend Kevin Annett is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (May 8, 2013) American National Militia (archived from November 9, 2013).
:*Document: "PUBLIC NOTICE Thursday, March 7, 2013 CANADA IS DISSOLVED"Canada Is Dissolved by Republic of Kanata (March 7, 2013) Republic of Kanata (archived from 11 Jan 2015 21:13:35 UTC). — to be replaced by the "Republic of Kanata", which he still talks about to this dayThis Odd Thing called Canada by Kevin D. Annett (21 October, 2013) ''itccs (archived from October 30, 2013).
:*Kevin Annett discusses how he personally destroyed globalism on 01 August 2011International Media and Community Advisory from The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS) and Kevin Annett (August 3, 2011) KevinAnnett.com (archived from April 8, 2014).
===Mirror Spectrum===
:Site:
:*mirrorspectrum.com
:Specialties:
:*Literally unbelievable bullshit
:*Conspiracy theories
:*Might be satire — features no "about" page
:Site is a parked domain as of January 2018
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Most Terrifying alien abduction stories"Most Terrifying alien abduction stories (December 11, 2016) Mirror Spectrum (archived from 12 Dec 2016 05:36:26 UTC).
:*Headline: "Lady Gaga: Prince Charles 'is not human' "Lady Gaga: Prince Charles 'is not human' (December 10, 2016) Mirror Spectrum (archived from December 31, 2016).
:*Headline: "Will Large Hadron Collider destroy Earth? CERN admits experiments could create black holes"Will Large Hadron Collider destroy Earth? CERN admits experiments could create black holes (August 1, 2016) Mirror Spectrum (archived from August 4, 2016).
:*Headline: "Indian Government: Secret US weapons 'real cause of global warming' "Indian Government: Secret US weapons "real cause of global warming" (July 20, 2016) Mirror Spectrum (archived from July 22, 2016).
:*Headline: "Most terrifying experiences of glitches in matrix reported by people"Most terrifying experiences of glitches in matrix reported by people (December 11, 2016) Mirror Spectrum (archived from 12 Dec 2016 05:35:21 UTC).
:*Headline: "OMG! They’re Going to 9/11 us Again!"OMG! They’re Going to 9/11 us Again! (December 11, 2016) Mirror Spectrum (archived from March 21, 2017).
:*Headline: "Alien megastructure may have been found 1500 light years away from earth!"Alien megastructure may have been found 1500 light years away from earth! (December 10, 2016) Mirror Spectrum (archived from 12 Dec 2016 05:33:38 UTC).
:*Headline: "Former FBI Chief exposes 'Illuminati, satanism, pedophile rings' "Former FBI Chief exposes "Illuminati, satanism, pedophile rings" (December 11, 2016) Mirror Spectrum (archived from December 12, 2016).
:*Headline: "Rothschilds caught orchestrating US Election outcome"Rothschilds caught orchestrating US Election outcome (December 10, 2016) Mirror Spectrum (archived from March 14, 2017).
:*Headline: "U.S. Government pass bill outlawing independent media"U.S. Government pass bill outlawing independent media (December 11, 2016) Mirror Spectrum (archived from December 12, 2016).
===National Enquirer===
:Site:
:*nationalenquirer.com
:Specialties:National Enquirer entry, Media Bias/Fact Check 16 September 2021. "Overall, we rate the National Enquirer Questionable based on the routine publishing of sensational or fake news stories."
:*Clickbait celebrity headlines
:*In the past, was known for its promotion of pseudoscience and Donald Trump
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "The Kinksters In Camilla’s Closet!"The Kinksters In Camilla’s Closet! National Enquirer 21 March 2022
:*Headline: "Armageddon Is Just Weeks Away!"Armageddon Is Just Weeks Away! National Enquirer 21 March 2022
:*Headline: "Monster Putin’s Mad Secrets – Revealed!"Monster Putin’s Mad Secrets – Revealed! National Enquirer 21 March 2022
:*Headline: "Naughty Nicki Minaj Flaunting Rebuilt Asset!"Naughty Nicki Minaj Flaunting Rebuilt Asset! National Enquirer 21 March 2022
:*Headline: "Jeffrey Epstein Suspicious Deaths Mount Up!"Jeffrey Epstein Suspicious Deaths Mount Up! National Enquirer15 March 2022
===NaturalNews===
:Sites:
:*naturalnews.com
:*Many others
:Specialty:Fake News Watch, last updated 18 January 2016. Archived from the original at fakenewswatch.com.Natural News: A Truly Deadly Brand of Pseudoscience by Simon Oxenham (July 27, 2014, 12:34 PM ) big think.naturalnews.com is CLICKBAIT Real or Satire?
:*Anti-"mainstream" medicine clickbait
:Why it's fake/distorted:
:*Headline: "Microsoft buys eugenics technology from Merck, becomes drug development partner with top global vaccine manufacturer"Microsoft buys eugenics technology from Merck, becomes drug development partner with top global vaccine manufacturer by Mike Adams (February 02, 2012) Natural News (archived from February 3, 2012).
:*Headline: "AIDS: The great medical con, explained by David Icke"AIDS: The great medical con, explained by David Icke (January 12, 2010) Natural News (archived from January 15, 2010).AIDS denial and David Icke in one article is almost too much crank magnetism to handle.
:*Headline: "Biotech Genocide, Monsanto Collaborators And The Nazi Legacy Of 'Science' As Justification For Murder" (which insinuates that some scientists should be killed)Biotech genocide, Monsanto collaborators and the Nazi legacy of 'science' as justification for murder by Mike Adams] (July 21, 2014) Natural News (archived from July 23, 2015).
:*Headline: "People who grow their own food labeled 'extremist' by Dept. of Defense"People who grow their own food labeled 'extremist' by Dept. of Defense by J. D. Heyes (August 31, 2013) Natural News (archived from September 2, 2013).
:*Headline: "Principle of astrology proven to be scientific: planetary position imprints biological clocks of mammals"Principle of astrology proven to be scientific: planetary position imprints biological clocks of mammals by Mike Adams (December 11, 2010) Natural News (archived from December 12, 2010). (debunked by Phil PlaitMike Adams fails again: astrology edition by Phil Plait (December 13, 2010 7:00 am ) Discover Magazine.)
:*Headline: "Whole Foods Market (WFM) continues to knowingly sell poison to its customers: Natural News seeks class action law firm to pursue legal action"Whole Foods Market (WFM) continues to knowingly sell poison to its customers: Natural News seeks class action law firm to pursue legal action by Mike Adams (July 14, 2014) Natural News (archived from July 16, 2014).
:*Headline: "Ten mind-blowing, historic events you will likely witness in the next 100 days"Ten mind-blowing, historic events you will likely witness in the next 100 days by Mike Adams (November 18, 2016) Natural News (archived from November 20, 2016).
:*Headline: "What 'skeptics' really believe about vaccines, medicine, consciousness and the universe"What 'skeptics' really believe about vaccines, medicine, consciousness and the universe by Mike Adams (January 24, 2010) Natural News (archived from 7 Jul 2013 13:40:20 UTC). (They did at least have the sense to put "skeptics" in scare quotes.)
=== Sott and Cassiopaea ===
:Sites:
:*sott.net
:*cassiopaea.org
:*laura-knight-jadczyk.com
:*laura-knight-jadczyk.blogspot.com (dead link)
:*911ultimatetruth.com (dead link)
:Specialties:
:*Millennialist end-times fears
:*Conspiracy theories
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Albert Einstein, Free Energy and The Strange Deaths of Morris K. Jessup and Stefan Marinov"Albert Einstein, Free Energy and The Strange Deaths of Morris K. Jessup and Stefan Marinov by Laura Knight-Jadczyk (2010) The Cassiopaean Experiment (archived from October 20, 2010).
:*Headline: "MOSSAD and Moving Companies: Masterminds of Global Terrorism?"MOSSAD and Moving Companies: Masterminds of Global Terrorism? (2010) The Cassiopaean Experiment (archived from from October 20, 2010).
:*Headline: "Mahmoud Ahmad and The Secret Cult of 9-11"Mahmoud Ahmad and The Secret Cult of 9-11 (2010) The Cassiopaean Experiment (archived from from October 20, 2010).
:*Headline: "The Denver Airport Material Image Catalog"The Denver Airport Material Image Catalog (2010) The Cassiopaean Experiment (archived from from October 20, 2010).
:*Headline: "The attempted Clinton-CIA coup against Donald Trump"The attempted Clinton-CIA coup against Donald Trump by Alexander Mercouris (10 Dec 2016 18:33 UTC) Signs of the Times (archived from December 11, 2016).
:*Headline: "Wakey Wakey! Deep State USA and the US Presidential Election Farce"Wakey Wakey! Deep State USA and the US Presidential Election Farce by Joe Quinn (08 Nov 2016 14:53 UTC) Signs of the Times (archived from from November 9, 2016).
:*Headline: "HAARP, Weather, Roswell Rods, 4th Density Battles & Bleedthrough and 7th Density"HAARP, Roswell Rods, 4th Density Bleedthrough and 7th Density (2010) The Cassiopaean Experiment (archived from from October 20, 2010).
:*Headline: "Death squads, pedophiles and psychopaths: Inside the British establishment"Death squads, pedophiles and psychopaths: Inside the British establishment by Laura Knight-Jadczyk (August 18, 2015) Laura Knight-Jadczyk (archived from August 19, 2015).
:*Headline: "Dallas police shootings: Social Engineering and the American Police State"Dallas police shootings: Social Engineering and the American Police State by Joe Quinn & Beau Christensen (12 Jul 2016 22:05 UTC) Signs of the Times (archived from July 14, 2016).
:*Headline: "Harmony: The neuroscience of singing"Harmony: The neuroscience of singing by Cassandra Sheppard (11 Dec 2016 21:34 UTC) Signs of the Times (archived from December 13, 2016).
==Biased or dishonest representation of real news==
A favorite of political fake news on the marginally more legitimate sites includes completely out-of-context quotes that often say the opposite of what the in context quote says, complete misrepresentations of the intent, or cause of actions by political leaders, suggesting a recent policy or action will result in an extreme version of the policy (often freely intermingled with conspiracy theories), treating a recurring or regular event like a sudden new innovation and a threat to [insert your political affiliation here].
Oxford University researcher Phil Howard has characterized these types of websites as "junk news" when they meet at least 3 of 5 criteria:The Cybersecurity 202: There is more phony political news on social media now than in 2016, report says by Cat Zakrzewski (November 1, 2018 at 8:01 AM) The Washington Post.Computational Propaganda: Political Parties, Politicians, and Political Manipulation on Social Media, edited by Samuel C. Woolley & Philip N. Howard (2018) Oxford University Press. ISBN 0190931418.
#failing to meet the best practices of professional journalism
#using emotionally driven language
#relying on false information or conspiracy theories
#using highly biased reporting
#relying on counterfeit of established news outlets
===Breitbart===
:Site:
:*breitbart.com
:Specialties:breitbart.com is BIASED (08-03-2016) Real or Satire?Breitbart — Questionable Source (Media Bias/Fact Check)
:*Far-right (or alt-right) exaggerations of news
:*Racially-tinged news (often bordering on white nationalism)
:*ALL CAPS HEADLINES (lowercased here for legibility)
:Why it's exaggerated:
:*Headline: "Hillary Clinton: Wanted to ‘Curl Up’ and ‘Never Leave The House Again’" (read the actual quote, for Christ's sake)Hillary Clinton: Wanted to 'Curl Up' and 'Never Leave The House Again' by Katie McHugh (17 Nov 2016) Breitbart (archived from November 17, 2016).
:*Headline: "Obama: Muslims Built 'The Very Fabric of Our Nation' "Obama: Muslims Built 'The Very Fabric of Our Nation' by Robert Wilde (28 Jul 2014) Breitbart (archived from July 29, 2014). (debunked by SnopesObama: 'Muslims Built the Fabric of Our Nation'. Breitbart, not President Obama, said that 'Muslims built the very fabric of our nation' by David Mikkelson (Published: 6 March 2015; Updated: 9 July 2016) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "4 Illegal Immigrants Caught on Camera ‘Rolling’ Over Border' "4 Illegal Immigrants Caught on Camera ‘'Rolling' Over Border by John Binder (17 Nov 2016) Breitbart (archived from November 17, 2016).
:*Headline: "Lawmaker Wants to Pull Funding from Colleges That Spend Money on 'Coddling' Students over Trump"Lawmaker Wants to Pull Funding from Colleges That Spend Money on 'Coddling' Students over Trump by Tom Ciccotta (16 Nov 2016) Breitbart 9archived from November 16, 2016).
:*Headline: "Take Down the Fascist, Anti-Christian Gay-Pride Flag"Take Down the Fascist, Anti-Christian Gay-Pride Flag by John Nolte (23 Jun 2015) Breitbart (archived from June 24, 2015).
:*Headline: "Arabic Translator: Muslim Migrants Secretly Hate Christians, Seek to Outbreed Them"Arabic Translator: Muslim Migrants Secretly Hate Christians, Seek to Outbreed Them by Virginia Hale (16 Nov 2016) Breitbart (archived from November 16, 2016).
:*Headline: "War on Christmas: Saudis Ban International Schools from Observing Non-Islamic Holidays"War on Christmas: Saudis Ban International Schools from Observing Non-Islamic Holidays by Edwin Mora (16 Nov 2016) Breitbart (archived from November 18, 2016).
:*Headline: "Congressman Slams Discredited Media on House Floor"Congressman Slams Discredited Media on House Floor by Warner Todd Huston (16 Nov 2016) Breitbart (archived from November 16, 2016). (oh, the irony)
:*Headline: "Donald Trump Won 7.5 Million Popular Vote Landslide in Heartland"Donald Trump Won 7.5 Million Popular Vote Landslide in Heartland by Michael Patrick Leahy (15 Nov 2016) Breitbart (archived from November 16, 2016). (which is a bullshitThanks to a bad map and bizarre math, Breitbart can report that Trump won the REAL popular vote by Philip Bump (November 15, 2016) The Washington Post. "The only appropriate way to describe this map, gracing an article at Breitbart.com, is 'hilariously idiotic.' " metricThat misleading Breitbart map explained: How Trump's dominance across geography is a misrepresentation of the US election by Ashley Kirk & Patrick Scott (16 November 2016 • 2:38pm) The Telegraph.)
===Epoch Times===
Owned by The Epoch Media GroupProperties The Epoch Media Group
:Sites:
:*epochtimes.com (Epoch Times newspapers in 21 languages as of 2017)
:*theepochtimes.com (the English-language Epoch Times)
:*epochtimes.de (the German-language Epoch Times)
:*ntdtv.com (New Tang Dynasty TV, in Chinese and English)
:*dkn.tv (the Vietnamese-language Epoch Times)
:*visiontimes.com.au (the Australian-aimed Vision China Times, in Chinese and English)
:Specialties:The Epoch Times, Right bias, Mixed factual reporting -- Media Bias/Fact CheckThe Epoch Times -- NewsGuard
:*Support of its affiliated Falun GongDissident media linked to Falun Gong / Chinese-language print, broadcast outlets in U.S. are making waves by Vanessa Hua (4:00 am, Sunday, December 18, 2005) San Francisco Chronicle. and Shen Yun organizations
:*Meditation
:*Near-death experiences
:*UFOs and space aliens
:*Chemtrails
:*Pseudoarchaeology
:*Pseudoscience in general, which is listed in the "Beyond Science" subsection of "Science" in Epoch Times
:*Has these annoying ads that claim they don't politicize, however...
:*In Germany, anti-immigration and pro-far rightWie Geflüchtete die "Epoch Times" gerettet haben – Teil 1 by Rosemarie Frühauf (14. Juni 2017) Bell Tower (archived from September 2, 2018).Wie Geflüchtete die "Epoch Times" gerettet haben – Teil 2 by Rosemarie Frühauf (15. Juni 2017) Bell Tower (archived from September 2, 2018).
:*In the United States, it supports Donald Trump and denigrates his critics. It also promotes conspiracy theories such as QAnonA Newspaper Banned In China Is Now One Of Trump's Biggest Defenders by Hayes Brown (Last updated on October 23, 2018, at 6:10 p.m. ET; Posted on October 22, 2018, at 1:52 p.m. ET) BuzzFeed News.Trump, QAnon and an impending judgment day: Behind the Facebook-fueled rise of The Epoch Times. Started almost two decades ago with a stated mission to “provide information to Chinese communities to help immigrants assimilate into American society,” The Epoch Times now wields one of the biggest social media followings of any news outlet. by Brandy Zadrozny & Ben Collins (August 20, 2019) NBC News.
:Why it's distorted:
:*Headline: "Space Aliens Live Quietly Among Us, Say Some Scientists and Officials"Space Aliens Live Quietly Among Us, Say Some Scientists and Officials by Tara MacIsaac (January 30, 2014 AT 3:10 PM Last Updated: April 25, 2014 5:07 pm) Epoch Times (archived from May 6, 2014).
:*Headline: "Expert in Chinese Petroglyphs Supports Theory Ancient Chinese Made It to America"Expert in Chinese Petroglyphs Supports Theory Ancient Chinese Made It to America by Tara MacIsaac (June 30, 2016 AT 5:39 PM) Epoch Times (archived from July 2, 2016).
:*Headline: "Woman Has Near-Death Experience, Sees 'Hell,' and Comes Back a Better Person"Woman Has Near-Death Experience, Sees 'Hell,' and Comes Back a Better Person by Tara MacIsaac (April 10, 2016 AT 11:58 AM Last Updated: April 13, 2016 2:22 pm) Epoch Times (archived from April 14, 2016).
:*Headline: "Supernormal Abilities Developed Through Meditation: Dr. Dean Radin Discusses"Supernormal Abilities Developed Through Meditation: Dr. Dean Radin Discusses by Tara MacIsaac (September 29, 2016 AT 10:16 AM) Epoch Times (archived from October 2, 2016).
:*Headline: "5 Best UFO Sightings This Week: March 7-14 (+Photos +Videos)"5 Best UFO Sightings This Week: March 7-14 (+Photos +Videos) by Tara MacIsaac (March 14, 2014 AT 5:29 PM Last Updated: April 25, 2014 5:11 pm) Epoch Times (archived from September 2, 2018).
:*Headline: "Nervous-System Damage From the Sky: 'Chemtrails' rain aluminum nanoparticles on man, beast, and land."Nervous-System Damage From the Sky: 'Chemtrails' rain aluminum nanoparticles on man, beast, and land. by Louise McCoy (October 18, 2012 AT 4:07 PM Last Updated: October 1, 2015 12:04 pm) Epoch Times (archived from February 7, 2016).
:*Headline: "3-Year-Old Remembers Past Life as Snake? Gives Verified Details of Encounter With Hunter"3-Year-Old Remembers Past Life as Snake? Gives Verified Details of Encounter With Hunter by Tara MacIsaac (August 3, 2015 AT 3:54 PM Last Updated: March 28, 2016 11:25 am) Epoch Times (archived from March 31, 2016).
===The Grayzone===
:Sites:
:*thegrayzone.com
:Specialties:The Grayzone profile. Media Bias/Fact Check, 20 January 2022. "Overall, we rate The Grayzone Far-Left Biased and Questionable based on the promotion of propaganda, conspiracy theories, and consistent one-sided reporting."
:*Promoting apologia of any regime that is geopolitically opposed to the U.S.
:*Promotion of conspiracy theories and propaganda
:Why it's distorted:
:*Headline: "US and NATO allies arm neo-Nazi units in Ukraine as foreign policy elites yearn for Afghan-style insurgency"US and NATO allies arm neo-Nazi units in Ukraine as foreign policy elites yearn for Afghan-style insurgency by Alexander Rubenstein (March 20, 2022) The Grayzone.
:*Headline: "Was bombing of Mariupol theater staged by Ukrainian Azov extremists to trigger NATO intervention?"Was bombing of Mariupol theater staged by Ukrainian Azov extremists to trigger NATO intervention? by Max Blumenthal (March 18, 2022) The Grayzone.
:*Headline: "Flattening the curve or flattening the global poor? How Covid lockdowns obliterate human rights and crush the most vulnerable"Flattening the curve or flattening the global poor? How Covid lockdowns obliterate human rights and crush the most vulnerable by Stavroula Pabst and Max Blumenthal (December 3, 2021) The Grayzone.
:*Headline: "Venezuela’s socialists win elections in landslide – so US tries to discredit them"Venezuela’s socialists win elections in landslide – so US tries to discredit them by Ben Norton (November 3, 2021) The Grayzone.
:*Headline: "Billionaire political meddlers, disinformation agents launch ‘Good Information Inc.’ to fight disinformation" (with George Soros conspiracy-mongering as an added bonus!)Billionaire political meddlers, disinformation agents launch ‘Good Information Inc.’ to fight disinformation by Alexander Rubenstein (October 27, 2021) The Grayzone".
:*Headline: "Behind the ‘Uyghur Tribunal’, US govt-backed separatist theater to escalate conflict with China"Behind the ‘Uyghur Tribunal’, US govt-backed separatist theater to escalate conflict with China by Brian Berletic (October 17, 2021) The Grayzone.
:*Headline: "Ukrainian ultranationalist lobby flaunts influence over Biden, blocks top Russia expert’s appointment"Ukrainian ultranationalist lobby flaunts influence over Biden, blocks top Russia expert’s appointment by Moss Robeson (April 29, 2021) The Greyzone.
:*Headline: "Israeli propagandist behind Hamas ‘mass rape’ narrative exposed as grifter, fraud"Israeli propagandist behind Hamas ‘mass rape’ narrative exposed as grifter, fraud (March 25, 2024) The Grayzone.
===LifeSiteNews===
:Sites:
:*lifesitenews.com
:Specialties:LifeSiteNews profile. Media Bias/Fact Check, 8 June 2021. "We rate LifeSiteNews far right biased for story selection that always favors evangelical Christianity and Questionable based on the promotion of conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and many failed fact checks."
:*Promoting far right viewpoints by misrepresenting published sources
:*Virulent anti-abortion and homophobic hate speech
:*Conspiracy theories disguised as journalism
:Why it's exaggerated:
:*Headline: "Former Satanist: ‘I performed satanic rituals inside abortion clinics’"Former Satanist: ‘I performed satanic rituals inside abortion clinics’. Archived from LifeSiteNews, 9 September 2015.
:*Headline: "The public health bureaucracy is cratering on COVID, as experts continue to contradict themselves"The public health bureaucracy is cratering on COVID, as experts continue to contradict themselves. Archived from LifeSiteNews, 25 June 2021.
:*Headline: "UK: Flu and pneumonia deaths now over ten times higher than coronavirus deaths"UK: Flu and pneumonia deaths now over ten times higher than coronavirus deaths. Archived from LifeSiteNews, 24 June 2021.
:*Headline: "Thousands of deaths linked to drugs used as puberty blockers for gender-confused kids"Martin M. Barillas, Thousands of deaths linked to drugs used as puberty blockers for gender-confused kids. Archived from LifeSiteNews, 24 September 2019.
:*Headline: "Pornography is fueling the spike in child sex abuse by normalizing pedophilia"Pornography is fueling the spike in child sex abuse by normalizing pedophilia. Archived from LifeSiteNews, 21 December 2020.
===One America News Network (OANN)===
:Sites:
:*oann.com
:Specialties:One America News Network profile. Media Bias/Fact Check, 3 July 2021. "Overall, we rate One America News Questionable based on far-right bias, lack of sourcing, promotion of conspiracy theories, and propaganda, as well as numerous failed fact checks. OAN is not a credible news source."
:*Heavily distorted news with a very far-right bias
:*Promotion of conspiracy theories and denialism
:Why it's dishonest:
:*Headline: "FBI ‘Can’t Find Proof’ Of Antifa Involvement In Jan. 6 Protests Despite Mountains Of Video Evidence"FBI ‘Can’t Find Proof’ Of Antifa Involvement In Jan. 6 Protests Despite Mountains Of Video Evidence, OANN 4 March 2021
:*Headline: "MSM Ignoring Scenes Of Violence Carried Out By Radical Leftists On President Trump’s Inauguration"MSM Ignoring Scenes Of Violence Carried Out By Radical Leftists On President Trump’s Inauguration, OANN 20 January 2021
:*Headline: "Ga. Secretary Of State Raffensperger Draws Fire For 2020 Election Failures"Ga. Secretary Of State Raffensperger Draws Fire For 2020 Election Failures, OANN 3 September 2021
:*Headline: "Doctor Warns Vaccines Have Troubling Side Effects, Early Treatment Proving Far More Effective"Doctor Warns Vaccines Have Troubling Side Effects, Early Treatment Proving Far More Effective, OANN 26 August 2021
:*Headline: "China Virus ‘Breakthrough’ Cases Surge Globally As Concerns Mount Over Ineffective Vaccines"China Virus ‘Breakthrough’ Cases Surge Globally As Concerns Mount Over Ineffective Vaccines, OANN 12 August 2021
:*Headline: "U.S Govt Research Finds African Countries Using Ivermectin Have Much Lower Rates Of COVID Mortality"U.S Govt Research Finds African Countries Using Ivermectin Have Much Lower Rates Of COVID Mortality, OANN 15 September 2021
:*Headline: "Mainstream Media Lies About Hydroxychloroquine Are Costing Thousands Of American Lives"Mainstream Media Lies About Hydroxychloroquine Are Costing Thousands Of American Lives, OANN 1 February 2021
:*Headline: "HHS To Launch New Office Geared Toward Combating So-Called Climate Change"HHS To Launch New Office Geared Toward Combating So-Called Climate Change, OANN 30 August 2021
===Politicus USA===
:Site:
:*politicususa.com
:Specialty:PoliticusUSA — Left Bias (Media Bias/Fact Check)
:*Ridiculously exaggerated pro-Democratic Party news
:Why it's exaggerated:
:*Headline: "Liberal House Democrats Blast Trump For Filling His Cabinet With Misfits And Stooges"Liberal House Democrats Blast Trump For Filling His Cabinet With Misfits And Stooges by Jason Easley (Dec 8th, 2016 at 2:08 pm) Politicus USA (archived from December 9, 2016).
:*Headline: "Shocking New Poll Shows That A Vast Majority Of Trump Voters Live In Another Reality"Shocking New Poll Shows That A Vast Majority Of Trump Voters Live In Another Reality by Sean Colarossi (Dec 8th, 2016 at 9:58 pm) Politicus USA (archived from February 1, 2017).
:*Headline: "Yes, We're All Pretty Much Horrified That Putin, Not America, Elected Trump"Yes, We're All Pretty Much Horrified That Putin, Not America, Elected Trump by Hrafnkell Haraldsson (Dec 10th, 2016 at 2:43 pm) Politicus USA (archived from December 11, 2016).
:*Headline: "Trump Surrogate Calls on FBI's Comey to 'Crackdown' on Peaceful Protests"Trump Surrogate Calls on FBI's Comey to 'Crackdown' on Peaceful Protests by Rmuse (Dec 11th, 2016 at 9:44 pm) Politicus USA (archived from December 13, 2016).
:*Headline: "Trump Said CIA Lies But Then Winks as He Makes Putin’s BFF New Fave as SecState"Trump Said CIA Lies But Then Winks as He Makes Putin's BFF New Fave as SecState by Hrafnkell Haraldsson (Dec 10th, 2016 at 7:56 am) Politicus USA (archived from December 11, 2016).
:*Headline: "No American Is Safe from Trump’s Wrecking Crew Cabinet"No American Is Safe from Trump's Wrecking Crew Cabinet by Rmuse on (Dec 9th, 2016 at 9:55 am) Politicus USA (archived from December 10, 2016).
:*Headline: "Trump's Labor Secretary Pick Is Declaration Of War On America's Workers"Trump's Labor Secretary Pick Is Declaration Of War On America's Workers by Jason Easley (Dec 8th, 2016 at 4:53 pm) Politicus USA (archived from December 10, 2016).
===RawStory===
:Site:
:*rawstory.com
:Specialties:rawstory.com is BIASED Real or Satire?Raw Story — Left Bias (Media Bias/Fact Check).
:*Leftist exaggerations or distortions of news
:*Occasionally has transcripts of wingnuttery similar to Right Wing Watch.
:Why it's exaggerated:
:*Headline: " 'This is our moment': Trump's win emboldens activist behind effort to 'make rape legal' " (while Roosh V is despicable, he has never explicitly linked Trump to rape legalization)'This is our moment': Trump's win emboldens activist behind effort to 'make rape legal' by David Edwards (16 Nov 2016 at 12:59 ET) Raw Story (archived from November 16, 2016).
:*Headline: " 'I voted for Trump!': White customer demands special privileges in Starbucks meltdown"'I voted for Trump!': White customer demands special privileges in Starbucks meltdown by Travis Gettys (17 Nov 2016 at 09:02 ET) Raw Story (archived from November 18, 2016).
:*Headline: "Baltimore teacher loses her cool and tells 'punk-ass n****r' students they’re 'gonna get shot' "Baltimore teacher loses her cool and tells 'punk-ass n****r' students they’re 'gonna get shot' by David Ferguson (17 Nov 2016 at 11:20 ET) Raw Story (archived from November 18, 2016).
:*Headline: "Trump fans try to 'punish' Starbucks by writing his name on cups — and the internet is cracking up"Trump fans try to 'punish' Starbucks by writing his name on cups — and the internet is cracking up by Brad Reed (18 Nov 2016 at 14:43 ET) Raw Story (archived from November 19, 2016).
:*Headline: "Van Jones: I love Jeffrey Lord — he's like a 'Fraggle' who believes 'terrible revisionist history' "Van Jones: I love Jeffrey Lord — he's like a 'Fraggle' who believes 'terrible revisionist history' by David Ferguson (18 Nov 2016 at 15:49 ET) Raw Story (archived from November 19, 2016).
:*Headline: "Black college students kicked out of Trump rally in Georgia for no reason"."Black college students kicked out of Trump rally in Georgia for no reason". rawstory.com. This is according to students but according to staff, the students were disruptive involving using profanities and cutting in line, arguing with the detail after being asked to leave."Black students ejected from Trump rally in Ga.". USA Today (February 29, 2016).
===The Rebel Media===
:Site:
:*therebel.media
:Specialties:The Rebel — Right Bias (Media Bias/Fact Check)
:*Far-right (or alt-right) exaggerations of news
:*Far-right (or alt-right) fake news
:*Providing a home for failed Sun News Network employees
:Why it's fake/distorted:
:*Headline: "Backlash over Trump's leaked tape is really an attack on masculinity"Backlash over Trump's leaked tape is really an attack on masculinity by Gavin McInnes (October 11, 2016) The Rebel (archived from October 12, 2016).
:*Headline: "Note telling offended left-wingers to 'suck it up' over Trump's win being investigated as a hate crime"Note telling offended left-wingers to 'suck it up' over Trump's win being investigated as a hate crime (November 23, 2016) The Rebel (archived from November 24, 2016).
:*Headline: " 'It’s like sex!' 10 things I love about going to church"'It’s like sex!' 10 things I love about going to church by Gavin McInnes (November 23, 2016) The Rebel (archived from November 24, 2016)
:*Headline: "Millennials argue: 'Trump has to die!' "Millennials argue: 'Trump has to die!' by David Menzies (November 22, 2016) The Rebel (archived from November 24, 2016). (or: "Watch as totally-sober kids outside bars are interviewed about politics")
:*Headline: "WATCH: White CNN guest drops n-word ON AIR while trying to claim Trump, Bannon are racists"WATCH: White CNN guest drops n-word ON AIR while trying to claim Trump, Bannon are racists (November 23, 2016) The Rebel (archived from November 25, 2016) (or: "Liberals said a no-no word!")
=== RT and SputnikNews ===
:Sites:
:*rt.com
:*sputniknews.com
:Specialties:RT news, Very Low -- Media Bias/Fact CheckSputnik news, Very Low -- Media Bias/Fact Check
:*Openly being a state-run nationalistic Russian propaganda outlet.Is RT state-run? (Published time: 16 Jun, 2011 19:34; Edited time: 17 Jun, 2011 20:12) RT (archived from November 7, 2013).Анатомия несопротивления (2 июля 2012 20:18) Лениздат.Ру (archived from December 5, 2013). Anatomy of the Resistance — translation into English of the live page. Known particularly for trashing the United States on pretty much everything. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing; the problem is, RT usually criticizes the US because of things that aren't true.
:*Being labelled "Russia's main international media weapon" by the European ParliamentRussia's disinformation on Ukraine and the EU's response (November 2015) European Parliament.
:Why it's distorted:
:*52 videos about "9/11 Truth".CrossTalk on 9/11: Whodunit? (Mar 10, 2010) RT via YouTube. 7 videos on "Climategate".Conspiracy of the century? Hackers 'expose' climate change (Nov 23, 2009) RT via YouTube. 4 interviews with Alex Jones,Alex Jones: Al-Qaeda created by CIA (Mar 29, 2011) RT via YouTube.RT Interviews Alex Jones at Bilderberg 2012 (June 1, 2012) Infowars (archived from July 2, 2013).RT Alex Jones oil spill Conspiracy In The Gulf .flv (May 2, 2010) YouTube. including one on FEMA concentration camps.Army manual for re-education camps applies to US citizens (04 May, 2012, 20:25) RT (archived from May 7, 2012). Need we say more?
:*Deciding what the headlines will be before finding any factsHow The Truth Is Made At Russia Today: "It was my first job and I feel embarrassed and ashamed." An inside look at what it's like to work at the Kremlin-funded media outlet. by Rosie Gray (March 13, 2014, at 10:44 p.m. ET) BuzzFeed News.
:*Video: " 'America lives in a fascist state' — Gerald Celente"'America lives in a fascist state' - Gerald Celente (Apr 18, 2009) RT via YouTube.
:*Video: "Chossudovsky: US will start WW3 by attacking Iran"Chossudovsky: US will start WW3 by attacking Iran (Feb 19, 2010) RTvia YouTube.
:*Video: "Jacque Fresco: US has never been a democracy"Jacque Fresco: US has never been a democracy (Feb 20, 2010) RT via YouTube.
:*Headline: "US Anger With RT Will Start World War Three"US Anger With RT Will Start World War Three – Emir Kusturica (19:10 15.05.2015; updated 20:29 15.05.2015) Sputnik News (archived from January 25, 2017).
===The Washington Times===
Not to be confused with the legitimate (and much better) publication, The Washington Post
:Sites:
:*washtimes.com
:*washingtontimes.com
:Specialties:The Washington Times Has History of Hyped Stories, Shoddy Reporting and Failing to Correct Errors by Heidi Beirich and Bob Moser (2015) Southern Poverty Law Center'.Washington Times — Right-Center Bias (Media Bias/Fact Check).
:*Being owned by the Unification Church
:*Generally poor journalistic standards
:*Sensational (and false) news stories that other news outlets republish uncritically
:Why it's distorted:
:*Headline: "Obama's golf weekend with Tiger Woods cost taxpayers more than $3.6 million"Obama's golf weekend with Tiger Woods cost taxpayers more than $3.6 million by Dave Boyer (October 26, 2016) The Washington Times (archived from October 29, 2016). (Snopes says "nope"Obama Golf Outing with Tiger Woods Cost Nearly $4 Million? President Obama didn't spend $3.6 million in taxpayer funds just to play golf with Tiger Woods. by Kim LaCapria (28 October 2016) Snopes.)
:*Headline: "Speaker [Nancy Pelosi] pursues military flights"Speaker pursues military flights (February 1, 2007) The Washington Times (archived from October 27, 2010). (Pelosi did not, in fact, request a military-grade aircraftFact Check: Washington Times Publishes False Report On Pelosi's Use Of Military Aircraft (Feb 5, 2007, 11:59 pm) Think Progress.)
:*Headline: "Clinton calls terror a U.S. debt to past"Clinton calls terror a U.S. debt to past (November 8, 2001) The Washington Times (archived from 13 Dec 2016 20:33:30 UTC). (no, Bill Clinton did not defend 9/11 by invoking slaveryClinton Speaks, Pundits Spin: The Washington Times and the Spread of a Media Myth by Bryan Keefer (November 19, 2001) Spin Sanity.)
:*Headline: "EDITORIAL: Taxpayers to pay for tranny grannies"Editorial: Taxpayers to pay for tranny grannies. Medicare to pick up the tab for sex changes for the elderly (June 4, 2014) The Washington Times (archived from June 5, 2014). (sighWash. Times Editorial Spreads Slurs, Lies, on Medicare's Trans Coverage by Rebecca Juro (June 06 2014 4:07 PM EDT) The Advocate.)
:*Headline: "New Hampshire opts to float Gore's boat" (no, Al Gore didn't flood a river so that he could kayak itOur current howler (part II): Sammon says (30 July 1999) The Daily Howler.)
===WND (formally WorldNetDaily)===
:Sites:
:*wnd.com
:*g2bulletin.wnd.com
:Specialties:WND, Questionable source -- Media Bias/Fact CheckWND -- NewsGuardInside the spectacular fall of the granddaddy of right-wing conspiracy sites by Manuel Roig-Franzia (April 2, 2019 at 10:56 p.m. GMT+5:30) The Washington Post
:*Far-right interpretations of the news with an emphasis on fundamentalist Christian apocalypticism
:*Ground-zero of the birther conspiracy theory.
:*Publishing a veritable rogues' gallery of wingnut commentators (Matt Barber, Bradlee Dean, Dennis Prager, Jerome Corsi, Ray Comfort, Joseph Farah's mustache, etc.)
:Why it's distorted:
:*Headline: "Is this a 'demon' racing in front of Obama?"Video: Is this a 'demon' racing in front of Obama? Bizarre mystery caught on camera has some guessing by Joe Kovacs (August 5, 2015) WND (archived from August 5, 2015). (no, it's a lens flare)
:*Headline: "U.S. on list of Christian-persecuting nations."U.S. on list of Christian-persecuting nations (January 6, 2017) WND (archived from January 9, 2017).
:*Headline: " 'Clinton's black son' demands DNA sample"Clinton's black son' demands DNA sample by Jerome R. Corsi (10/19/2016 at 6:27 PM) WND (archived from October 20, 2016).
:*Headline: "Obama hid 'gay life' to become president."Obama hid 'gay life' to become president: Chicago homosexual community shocked he could keep it secret by Jerome R. Corsi (September 12, 2012) WND (archived from September 18, 2012).
:*Headline: "Soy is making kids 'gay'"Soy is making kids 'gay' by Jim Rutz (12/12/2006 at 1:00 AM) WND (archived from January 28, 2012). (Editorial guidelines of using scare quotes around the word gay is clearly the practice of a reputable news source.)
:*Headline: "Black Mobs Plague Nightclubs Coast to Coast"Black Mobs Plague Nightclubs Coast to Coast (November 18, 2013) WND (archived from November 21, 2013).
:*Headline: "Family picnic turns to horror thanks to black mob."Family picnic turns to horror thanks to black mob by Colin Flaherty (June 30, 2013) WND (archived from July 2, 2013). (WND's used the "black mob" trope so frequently that Google banned them from their Ads service and branded WND a hate site.)
:*Headline: "Combat soldiers no match for black mob."Combat soldiers no match for black mob… by Colin Flaherty (October 6, 2013) WND (archived from October 6, 2013). (Yes, this was an actual headline from a website that claims to be "…an independent news company dedicated to uncompromising journalism, seeking truth and justice and revitalizing the role of the free press as a guardian of liberty.")About WND WND (archived from April 14, 2016).
==Satirical news==
This category contains open satire: satire that tells you it's satire. These are the least harmful variety of fake news, and can genuinely do some good while providing a few yucks. (Despite this, many people accidentally share stories from these while assuming they're real.)Literally Unbelievable (archived from April 1, 2018). A tremendous collection of examples of gullible fools misled people was te be found at the "Literally Unbelievable" blog.
===The American Tribune===
:Site:
:*theamericantribune.org
:Specialty:The American Tribune (archived from December 7, 2016)
:*Outlandish clickbait headlines similar to those on Clickhole and The Onion.
:Website was parked as of March 2017. Site is offline as of January 2018.
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Obama Controls our Thots"Obama Controls our Thots by Bud Dicker (Dec 12, 201607:55) The American Tribune (archived from 8 Jan 2017 13:22:35 UTC).
:*Headline: "Buzzfeed Article Nominated for Pulitzer Prize"Buzzfeed Article Nominated for Pulitzer Prize by Mark Whitney (Dec 15, 201608:48) The American Tribune (archived from 8 Jan 2017 13:21:15 UTC).
:*Headline: "Putin is Out of the Closet!"Putin is Out of the Closet! by Bud Dicker (Dec 16, 201609:27) The American Tribune (archived from 8 Jan 2017 13:21:16 UTC).
:*Headline: "Russian Spies Behind 2016 Holiday Season Celebrity Deaths"Russian Spies Behind 2016 Holiday Season Celebrity Deaths (Dec 29, 2016 10:40) The American Tribune (archived from 8 Jan 2017 13:21:15 UTC).
:*Headline: "Mariah Carey Claims Stage Was 'Hacked' by Russians After New Year's Eve Debacle"Mariah Carey Claims Stage Was 'Hacked' by Russians After New Year's Eve Debacle (Jan 4, 201706:52) The American Tribune (archived from 8 Jan 2017 13:21:32 UTC).
===The Babylon Bee===
The Babylon Bee is a satirical site, launched in March 1, 2016, for evangelical Christians, including trying to parody left-wing views (Babylon Bee relies on the typical evangelical bigotry and persecution complex; they have predictable, transphobia that pass off as jokes).@MNateShyamalan (August 2, 2020). "they made a right-wing version of The Onion and conservatives still have only one joke" Twitter (archived from 2 Aug 2020 23:19:31 UTC).@LOLGOP (October 16, 2020). "So inspiring to see the Babylon Bee finally recognized for making the same transphobic joke several times every week." Twitter (archived from October 16, 2020). The news models itself after The Onion, similar to ResistanceHole, a subsidary of ClickholeResistanceHole Clickhole. (see ). While it flails in its attempts to lampoon the left, the writers are also not afraid to try to poke copious amounts of fun at the other side, as well as evangelicals themselves.Nation's Tough, Masculine Guys Still Haven't Recovered From Offensive Razor Commercial (January 28th, 2019) The Babylon Bee.Amazing! This Christian Is Exactly Like His Unbelieving Friends Except He Says 'Heck' Instead Of 'Hell' (January 25th, 2019) The Babylon Bee.Local Man Sets More Realistic Goal Of Reading Bible Until He Gets To Leviticus (January 2nd, 2019) The Babylon Bee.Giuliani Opens New Law Firm That Guarantees To Get You Convicted In 30 Days Or Less (January 18th, 2019) The Babylon Bee.
:Site:
:*babylonbee.com
:Speciality:
:*Satire, absurd headlines
:Why it's fake/distorted:
:*Headline: "Bigoted Boy Scouts Welcome Girls But Still Exclude All 49,247 Other Genders"Bigoted Boy Scouts Welcome Girls But Still Exclude All 49,247 Other Genders (May 2, 2018) The Babylon Bee (archived from August 11, 2018).
:*Headline: "Kamala Harris Reiterates Strong Support For Separating Families At Border Of Birth Canal"Kamala Harris Reiterates Strong Support For Separating Families At Border Of Birth Canal (July 3, 2018) The Babylon Bee (archived from July 4, 2018).
:*Headline: "Libertarian Just Gonna Kick Back And Enjoy Watching Faith In Government Institutions Crumble"Libertarian Just Gonna Kick Back And Enjoy Watching Faith In Government Institutions Crumble (August 24, 2018) The Babylon Bee (archived from August 31, 2018).
:*Headline: "Young Earth Creationist Parents Force Child To Play With Human Action Figures, Dinosaurs At Same Time"Young Earth Creationist Parents Force Child To Play With Human Action Figures, Dinosaurs At Same Time (June 14, 2018) The Babylon Bee (archived from September 9, 2018).
:*Headline: "House Democrats Draft Legislation That Would Make It A Hate Crime To Eat At Chick-Fil-A"House Democrats Draft Legislation That Would Make It A Hate Crime To Eat At Chick-Fil-A (June 12, 2018) The Babylon Bee (archived from 13 Jun 2018 14:48:44 UTC).
===The Beaverton===
:Site:
:*thebeaverton.com
:Specialty:The Beaverton
:*Basically a Canadian version of the Onion
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Economists worry sanctions on Russian Oligarchs may depress housing market to point where Canadians can afford to buy homes again"Economists worry sanctions on Russian Oligarchs may depress housing market to point where Canadians can afford to buy homes again by Luke Gordon Field (March 14, 2022) The Beaverton.
:*Headline: "Jokes on you, Russia! Trudeau doesn’t have to visit you to appropriate your culture."Jokes on you, Russia! Trudeau doesn’t have to visit you to appropriate your culture. by Rob Ito (March 17, 2022) The Beaverton.
:*Headline: "Poll asking Canadians what we should do in Ukraine reveals majority of Canadians not military strategists"Poll asking Canadians what we should do in Ukraine reveals majority of Canadians not military strategists by Luke Gordon Field (March 16, 2022) The Beaverton.
:*Headline: "Building off COVID strategy, Ontario announces all students got As after they stopped testing"Building off COVID strategy, Ontario announces all students got As after they stopped testing by Luke Gordon Field (March 7, 2022) The Beaverton.
:*Headline: "'It’s just not the same when we can’t terrorize residents,' says Freedom Convoy Protestor on return to Parliament Hill"“It’s just not the same when we can’t terrorize residents,” says Freedom Convoy Protestor on return to Parliament Hill by Luke Gordon Field (March 7, 2022) The Beaverton.
===The Borowitz Report===
The Report is written by Andy Borowitz and published in The New Yorker.The Borowitz Report — 'The New Yorker.
:Specialties:
:*Humorous fake political news from a liberal slant
:*ALL CAPS HEADLINES (lowercased here for legibility)
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Cruz Delivers Early Concession Speech For Trump"Cruz Delivers Early Concession Speech for Trump by Andy Borowitz (November 8, 2016) The New Yorker.
:*Headline: "Poll: Unconscious Clinton More Fit To Be President Than Conscious Trump"Poll: Unconscious Clinton More Fit to Be President Than Conscious Trump by Andy Borowitz (September 11, 2016) The New Yorker.
:*Headline: "Comey Says F.B.I. Investigating Hillary's Ties To Bill Clinton"Comey Says F.B.I. Investigating Hillary’s Ties to Bill Clinton by Andy Borowitz (November 2, 2016) The New Yorker.
:*Headline: "Pence Recaptured After Fleeing Trump Campaign Bus"Pence Recaptured After Fleeing Trump Campaign Bus by Andy Borowitz (August 26, 2016) The New Yorker.
:*Headline: "Trump Confirms That He Just Googled Obamacare"Trump Confirms That He Just Googled Obamacare by Andy Borowitz (November 12, 2016) The New Yorker.
:*Headline: "In Final Appeal To Voters, Clinton Changes Slogan To 'Won't Blow Up Planet' "In Final Appeal To Voters, Clinton Changes Slogan To 'Won't Blow Up Planet' by Andy Borowitz (November 7, 2016) The New Yorker.
:*Headline: "Study: Average American Can Stand Four Seconds Of Ted Cruz"Study: Average American Can Stand Four Seconds of Ted Cruz by Andy Borowitz (November 11, 2015) The New Yorker.
===The Daily Currant===
:Site:
:*dailycurrant.com
:Specialty:
:*Satirical look at entertainment, politics, and technology.
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Sarah Palin Calls For Invasion Of Czech Republic"Sarah Palin Calls for Invasion of Czech Republic (Apr. 22, 2013) The Daily Currant (archived from April 24, 2013).
:*Headline: "Santorum Claims He Thought Grindr Was A Coffee App"Santorum Claims He Thought Grindr Was a Coffee App (July 3rd, 2012) The Daily Currant (archived from July 5, 2012).
:*Headline: "George Bush Accidentally Votes For Obama"George Bush Accidentally Votes For Obama (Nov. 06, 2012) The Daily Currant (archived from November 9, 2012).
:*Headline: "Paul Krugman Declares Personal Bankruptcy"Paul Krugman Declares Personal Bankruptcy (Mar. 06, 2013) The Daily Currant (archived from March 102, 2013).
:*Headline: "Sarah Palin: 'Native Americans should go back to Nativia' "Sarah Palin: 'Native Americans should go back to Nativia' (Sep 07, 2015) The Daily Currant (archived from September 9, 2015). (debunked by Truth or FictionSarah Palin: Native Americans Should Go Back to Nativia-Fiction! (Sep 10, 2015) Truth or Fiction.)
:*Headline: "Sarah Palin Arrives in South Korea for Mandela Memorial"Sarah Palin Arrives in South Korea for Mandela Memorial (Dec 10, 2013) The Daily Currant (archived from December 13, 2013).
:*Headline: "Donald Trump: 'I Have The Greatest Toenails In The History of Mankind' "Donald Trump: 'I Have The Greatest Toenails In The History of Mankind' (Mar 12, 2016) The Daily Currant (archived from March 16, 2016).
:*Headline: "Donald Trump Drops Out, Claims 'Joke Has Gone Too Far' "Donald Trump Drops Out, Claims 'Joke Has Gone Too Far' (Jun 29, 2016) The Daily Currant (archived from July 2, 2016).
===The Good Lord Above===
:Sites:
:*thegoodlordabove.com
:*twitter.com/TheGoodGodAbove
:Specialty:The Good Lord Above
:*Snarky Christianity.
Website is down as of January 2021
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Noah's Ark Theme Park Destroyed In A Flood"Noah's Ark Theme Park Destroyed In A Flood (August 29, 2016) The Good Lord Above (archived from August 29, 2016).Was a Noah's Ark Theme Park Destroyed in a Flood? Reports that a Christian theme park featuring a Noah's Ark exhibit was destroyed by a flood which meteorologists termed "an act of God" are fake news. by Dan Evon (Published: 21 April 2016; Updated: 25 November 2017) Snopes.
:*Headline: "Vice Presidential Debate Quickly Descends Into Curse-Filled Brawl"Vice Presidential Debate Quickly Descends Into Curse-Filled Brawl (November 18, 2016) The Good Lord Above (archived from 28 Nov 2016 20:59:39 UTC).
:*Headline: "Americans Finally Learn About World's Biggest Humanitarian Crisis Because A Politician Was Dumb"Americans Finally Learn About World's Biggest Humanitarian Crisis Because A Politician Was Dumb (November 18, 2016) The Good Lord Above (archived from 28 Nov 2016 20:59:37 UTC).
:*Headline: "One Week After Saying 'God Picked Trump,' Michele Bachmann Stricken With Lockjaw"One Week After Saying 'God Picked Trump,' Michele Bachmann Stricken With Lockjaw (November 18, 2016) The Good Lord Above (archived from 28 Nov 2016 20:59:08 UTC).
:*Headline: "Italy Earthquake Damage Removed By Massive Wave Of Thoughts And Prayers"Italy Earthquake Damage Removed By Massive Wave Of Thoughts And Prayers (November 18, 2016) The Good Lord Above (archived from 28 Nov 2016 20:57:46 UTC).
:*Headline: "Clinton Agrees To Debate Sanders In Exchange For $225,000"Clinton Agrees To Debate Sanders In Exchange For $225,000 (November 18, 2016) The Good Lord Above (archived from 28 Nov 2016 20:57:55 UTC).
===Hard Drive===
:Sites:
:*hard-drive.net
:*thehardtimes.net
:Specialties:
:*Satirical gaming news
:*Subsidiary of The Hard Times, which focuses on satirical punk rock news
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "‘Mario Party Superstars’ Adds Lifelike AI That Takes Fucking Forever With Their Turn"‘Mario Party Superstars’ Adds Lifelike AI That Takes Fucking Forever With Their Turn by Gabe Porter (September 15, 2021) Hard Drive.
:*Headline: "Racist Without PS5 Announces Boycott of ‘God of War: Ragnarok’"Racist Without PS5 Announces Boycott of ‘God of War: Ragnarok’ by Mark Roebuck (September 14, 2021) Hard Drive.
:*Headline: "Xbox Controller Just Needs Some Time to Recharge After Grueling 30 Minutes of Work"Xbox Controller Just Needs Some Time to Recharge After Grueling 30 Minutes of Work by Andy Holt (September 6, 2021) Hard Drive.
:*Headline: "Luigi Decides He Doesn’t Want to Wear Matching Clothes With Mario Anymore"Luigi Decides He Doesn’t Want to Wear Matching Clothes With Mario Anymore by Mark Roebuck (September 2, 2021) Hard Drive.
:*Headline: "Nintendo Sues Guy for Saying They Should Put N64 Games on the Switch"Nintendo Sues Guy for Saying They Should Put N64 Games on the Switch by Mark Roebuck (August 26, 2021) Hard Drive.
:*Headline: "Confederate Flag Spotted in GeoGuesser Game Doesn’t Narrow Down Anything"Confederate Flag Spotted in GeoGuesser Game Doesn’t Narrow Down Anything by Jeremy Kaplowitz (August 24, 2021) Hard Drive.
:*Headline: "Activision Issues a Couple New Apologies Just to Stay Ahead of Everything"Activision Issues a Couple New Apologies Just to Stay Ahead of Everything by Mark Roebuck (August 21, 2021) Hard Drive.
:*Headline: "Every SNES Game You Don’t Own Now Worth Over $100"Every SNES Game You Don’t Own Now Worth Over $100 by Naomi Krause (August 19, 2021) Hard Drive.
:*Headline: "SEGA Confirms Real Hedgehog Couldn’t Actually Run That Fast"SEGA Confirms Real Hedgehog Couldn’t Actually Run That Fast by Kyle Erf (August 17, 2021) Hard Drive.
===The Lapine===
Satirical news sitethelapine.ca is Satire Real or Satire.
:Site:
:*thelapine.ca
:Specialty:
:*Absurd news
:Why it's fake: 
:*Headline: "That Annoying Friend Who Loves Winter Doomed to 6 Months of Decent Weather"That Annoying Friend Who Loves Winter Doomed to 6 Months of Decent Weather (May 30, 2017) The Lapine (archived from June 28, 2017).
:*Headline: "Trump Rushes Emergency Planeload of His Hats to Flood-Ravaged Louisiana"Trump Rushes Emergency Planeload of Hats to Flood-Ravaged Louisiana (August 19, 2016) The Lapine (archived from August 20, 2016).
:*Content: " 'Sesame Street is the sort of liberal fairy crap kids are watching today,' Fox News owner Ruper Murdoch told Fox News entertainer Bill O'Reilly in making the announcement on-air today. 'Liberals dressed up in goof-ass costumes prancing around filling kids' heads with garbage about how special they are and how even Muslim and homosexual children are just the same as them and how the letter 'E' stands for 'Environment' and they should be kind to it.' "Fox to Launch News Channel for Kiddies The Lapine (archived from June 25, 2014).
:*Headline: "Ben Carson 'Stranded' in Middle of Escalator After Stairs Stop Moving"Ben Carson 'Stranded' in Middle of Escalator After Stairs Stop Moving (Published April 12, 2017 · Updated April 13, 2017) The Lapine (archived from June 28 2017).
===The Onion & Clickhole===
:Sites:
:*theonion.com
:*clickhole.com
:Specialty:Don't Be Fooled! A Guide to Fake News Websites by David Emery (January 18, 2018) ThoughtCo.
:*Humorous absurdism
:Why it's fake:
:*Special report: "Nation Fills Up On Bread: Despite repeated warnings from federal officials not to eat too much before their entree arrives, an alarming 89 percent of U.S. citizens filled up on bread Monday, leaving them too full to enjoy the rest of their meal."Nation Fills Up On Bread (November 1, 2000) The Onion (archived from November 28, 2015).
:*Headline: "Ambassador Stages Coup At UN, Issues Long List of Non-Binding Resolutions"Ambassador Stages Coup At UN, Issues Long List of Non-Binding Resolutions (4/29/09 5:30pm) The Onion.
:*Blog post by Donald Trump: "When You're Feeling Low, Just Remember I'll Be Dead In About 15 Or 20 Years"When You're Feeling Low, Just Remember I'll Be Dead In About 15 Or 20 Years (January 23, 2013) The Onion (archived from May 1, 2015).
:*Headline: "Trump Vomits Immediately After Seeing Everyday Americans Up Close"Trump Vomits Immediately After Seeing Everyday Americans Up Close (October 9, 2016) The Onion (archived from October 11, 2016).
:*Headline: "Breitbart Traffic Down As Readers Now Getting Bulk Of News Analysis From Graffiti Scrawled Across Neighborhood"Breitbart Traffic Down As Readers Now Getting Bulk Of News Analysis From Graffiti Scrawled Across Neighborhood (November 17, 2016) The Onion (archived from November 20, 2016).
:*Headline: "Finding Common Ground: This White Man And This Muslim Woman Both Have 'Trump' Painted On Their Garages"Finding Common Ground: This White Man And This Muslim Woman Both Have ‘Trump’ Painted On Their Garages Clickhole (archived from November 18, 20160.
The Onion was even more likely to fool someone prior to 2013, when it was published in a literal print format in numerous cities, and mixed legitimate music and film reviews with its regular satire.
===Real News Right Now===
Despite its name and its semi-professional layout, this is very much a satirical *fake* news website. Features absurd articles similar to those on The Onion. The site does not explicitly state that it is satire, but if headlines such as "Barack Obama Reinstated as 44th President of the United States Following Military Coup" do not make it obvious enough, it can also be inferred from the about page of the site.realnewsrightnow.com is Satire Real or Satire?
:Site:
:*realnewsrightnow.com
:Specialty:
:*Humorous absurdism
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "During U.S. Visit Netanyahu Garners Congressional Support to Relocate Palestine to Wyoming"During U.S. Visit Netanyahu Garners Congressional Support to Relocate Palestine to Wyoming by R. Hobbus (March 4, 2015) Real News Right Now (archived from 24 Nov 2016 05:17:21 UTC).
:*Headline: "Pope Francis Orders Vatican Archives to Reveal God's Name Ending Centuries of Secrecy"Pope Francis Orders Vatican Archives to Reveal God’s Name Ending Centuries of Secrecy by R. Hobbus (February 24, 2017) Real News Right Now (archived from 9 Sep 2018 04:38:33 UTC).
:*Headline: "Sophia the Robot Says She Has Taken Control of World's Strategic Nuclear Arsenal"Sophia the Robot Says She Has Taken Control of World's Strategic Nuclear Arsenal by R. Hobbus (November 27, 2017) Real News Right Now (archived from 9 Sep 2018 04:41:40 UTC).
:*Headline: "Scientists Warn Pink Cows on the Verge of Extinction"Scientists Warn Pink Cows on the Verge of Extinction by R. Hobbus (June 25, 2017) Real News Right Now (archived from 9 Sep 2018 04:49:25 UTC).
===RealTrueNews===
RealTrueNews started out pretending to be a real news website but by the end of November 2016 the owner of the site, Marco Chacon, admitted that the site was satire.I’ve Been Making Viral Fake News for the Last Six Months. It’s Way Too Easy to Dupe the Right on the Internet. Here’s what I learned trapping trending algorithms and the people of Facebook, even when I wasn’t really trying to. by Marco Chacon (11.21.16 1:13 AM ET) The Daily Beast. Sometime after Chacon's article in The Daily Beast, the site included "Fake, But Accurate" under its logo on the main page,RealTrueNews (archived from 5 Apr 2017 21:19:54 UTC). and including "RealTrueNews / The Resistor is Satire. It's sad we have to say this—but we do. Nothing on here is remotely real." on their "About" page.About RealTrueNews.
:Site:
:*realtruenews.org
:Specialities:
:*Satire
:*Trolling Trump and Bernie Sanders supporters
:*Mansplaining
:*Poll-unskewing
:*Satirical fact checking ("Finally: Patrioic Fact-Checking You Can Trust. Don't Fall For the Liberal Lies and Clinton News Network 'Journolism.' Get Real. True. Facts. When Your Liberal Cousin Sends You To Snopes, Send Them Here Instead.")Fact Check RealTrueNews
:Why it's fake/distorted:
:*Headline: "Mansplainer: Why Didn't They Repeal Obamacare?"Mansplainer: Why Didn't They Repeal Obamacare? by Lex Icon (July 18, 2017) RealTrueNews.
:*Headline: "Man Terrified of Learning Anything New About 'Q' "Man Terrified of Learning Anything New About 'Q' by Lex Icon (August 15, 2018) RealTrueNews.
:*Headline: "RNC 2018 Message 'OK To Say N-Word Again' "RNC 2018 Message 'OK To Say N-Word Again' by Max Inisder (August 2, 2018) RealTrueNews.
:*Headline: "Let's Learn All About The #SethRich Conspiracy!"Let's Learn All About The #SethRich Conspiracy! by The Exoteric Truth (May 30, 2017) RealTrueNews.
:*Headline: "Only Trump & Putin Can Stand Up To Hillary!!Only Trump & Putin Can Stand Up To Hillary!! by #NeverEVERHillary (July 24, 2016) RealTrueNews.
===The Shovel===
:Site:
:*theshovel.com.au
:Specialty:theshovel.com.au is Satire Real or Satire.The Shovel — Satire (Media Bias/Fact Check)
:*Humorous fake political news from liberal slant
:Why it's fake:
:*Headline: "Mark Zuckerburg – Dead At 32 – Denies Facebook Has Problem With Fake News"Mark Zuckerburg – Dead At 32 – Denies Facebook Has Problem With Fake News (November 17, 2016) The Shovel (archived from November 17, 2016).
:*Headline: "Refugee Swap: Australia To Send Manus Island Detainees To US In Return For 50 Million Democrat Voters"Refugee Swap: Australia To Send Manus Island Detainees To US In Return For 50 Million Democrat Voters (November 14, 2016) The Shovel (archived from November 14, 2016).
:*Headline: "USA Loses Presidential Election"USA Loses Presidential Election (November 9, 2016) The Shovel (archived from November 10, 2016).
:*Headline: "Leaked Emails From Clinton Server Reveal There Are Hundreds Of Singles Available In Her Area"Leaked Emails From Clinton Server Reveal There Are Hundreds Of Singles Available In Her Area (November 4, 2016) The Shovel (archived from November 6, 2016).
:*Headline: "Trump Rushed Off Stage After Man Asks Him To Logically Explain Economic Policy"Trump Rushed Off Stage After Man Asks Him To Logically Explain Economic Policy (November 6, 2016) The Shovel (archived from November 7, 2016).
:*Headline: "New Microsoft App Correctly Guesses What Year You Think It Is"New Microsoft App Correctly Guesses What Year You Think It Is (May 1, 2016) The Shovel (archived from November 6, 2016).
:*Headline: "Oh Fuck"Oh Fuck (November 9, 2016) The Shovel (archived from November 10, 2016).
:*Literally at the bottom of every page:The Shovel
===The Underground Report===
:Sites:
:*undergroundnewsreport.com
:Specialty:The Underground Report via The Internet Archive
:*Trolling Trump supporters
:Website is empty as of January 2018.
:Why it's fake:
::They came out as satire on March 3, 2017 after failing to write a story too ridiculous for even Trump supporters to believe.Breaking: Satire Makes Fools of Gullible Trump Supporters (March 3, 2017) The Underground Report (archived from March 11, 2017).Breaking: Fake news website created to test Donald Trump supporters' gullibility - Reveals they will believe anything by Adam Lusher (March 10, 2017) The Independent.
:*Headline: "Bombshell: Obama Plans To Use 'Mind Control' Drug On Trump"Headline: Bombshell: Obama Plans To Use 'Mind Control' Drug On Trump (February 23, 2017) The Underground Report (archived from March 15, 2017).
:*Headline: "Obama Mobilizing Refugee Army For Mexico"Obama Mobilizing Refugee Army For Mexico (February 28, 2017) The Underground Report (archived from March 14, 2017).
:*Headline: "New Evidence: Milo Yiannopolous Assisted Clinton Goons In Pedo Ring"New Evidence: Milo Yiannopolous Assisted Clinton Goons In Pedo Ring (February 21, 2017) The Underground Report (archived from February 25, 2017) The Underground Report (archived from February 25, 2017).
:*Headline: "Breaking: CNN Connection To ISIS Exposed"Breaking: CNN Connection To ISIS Exposed (February 21, 2017) The Underground Report.
:*Headline: "Report: Michelle Obama Underwent Sex Change Surgery In 2016"Report: Michelle Obama Underwent Sex Change Surgery In 2016 (February 21, 2017) The Underground Report (archived from February 25, 2017).
==Other, now-defunct fake news websites==
*longroom.com (fake polls, fake news aggregator)
==Is RationalWiki a fake news site?==
:Specialties:RationalWiki — Left-Center Bias (Media Bias/Fact Check).
::Liberal deceit
:Why it's fake:
:*RATIONALWIKI INVESTIGATES: THE TRUMP BODYCOUNT
:*RATIONALWIKI INVESTIGATES: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA
:*RATIONALWIKI INVESTIGATES: COMIC SANS
:*RATIONALWIKI INVESTIGATES: GREEN INK
:*RATIONALWIKI INVESTIGATES: CLICKBAIT GENERATOR
==See also==
===Media and websites===
*Charlie Hebdo
*ChristWire — fake news parodying the religious right
*CNN, which has a lot of critics, but is not fake news despite the continuous broken records saying it is.
*Conservapedia, which deliberately misdescribes the nature of fake news (cp:Fake News), and which could be summarized as news with which Donald Trump or Conservapedia editors disagree. Unsurprisingly, Conservapedia also gives uncritical reviews of low quality news sites (cp:Breitbart News, cp:Infowars, cp:Russia Today, and cp:WND).
*European Union Times — fake news from neo-Nazis
*Fox news, which is not fake news in their actual news reporting (although they came dangerously close with their coverage of the 2020 U.S. presidential election), but you still shouldn't trust it to provide information (primarily because their commentators, e.g., Sean Hannity, have been known to promote baseless conspiracy theories and otherwise mislead their viewers such as doctoring photos and fabricating statistics).
*:Category:Google News Fact Check — websites that Google News considers to be fact checkers of fake news
*List of websites owned by Mike Adams — NaturalNews on steroids
*James O'Keefe, founder of Project Veritas, which has tried to dupe real journalists into reporting fake news
*OpEdNews — includes left-wing conspiracy theories, radiophobia, and anti-science
*Pajamas Media — has morphed into various things over time; seems to currently be conservative wingnut linkbait
*Pravda.ru — possibly worse than the original Pravda
*Smoloko News — a far-right/Nazi apologist/neo-fascist/white nationalist/white supremacist/anti-Semitic propaganda webshite
*Webshites
*WhatDoesItMean
*YourNewsWire — clickbait, fake news & conspiracy theories
===Concepts===
*Clickbait
*Confirmation bias
*Fairness Doctrine — a US legal standard for broadcast media that was repealed in 1987
*Green ink
*Poe's Law — on why it's difficult to write satire that Trump supporters will understand
*Pseudohistory — past tense of fake news
*Roorbacking
*Near v. Minnesota — how these people get away with all of this
*Fun:Clickbait
*Fun:Phishing
==External links==
*Real or Satire?: Catalogs over 200 of the worst offenders.
*PolitiFact's guide to fake news websites and what they peddle
*Fake News Watch: Catalogs ~100 of the worst offenders. (Unfortunately only explains ~25).
*A Guide to Fake News Websites, About.com
*Media Bias Fact Check: Almost always accurately gauges the political (left-right), scientific (pro-anti), and conspiracist (pro-anti) measures of a news organization
:*MBFC's list of satire websites
:*MBFC's list of conspiracist and pseudoscientist websites
:*MBFC's list of the most left-biased websites
:*MBFC's list of the most right-biased websites
*False,​ ​Misleading,​ ​Clickbait-y,​ ​and/or​ ​Satirical​ ​“News”​ ​Sources This professionally-compiled file (unfortunately currently offline) is an excellent resource (archived from 17 Nov 2016 13:07:20 UTC)
*/r/fakenews
*r/AteTheOnion - Shows people who were fooled by satirical news websites.
*Wikipedia:
:*
:*
:*
:*
:*
*Avoid These Fake News Sites at All Costs
*How to Destroy the Business Model of Breitbart and Fake News, NYTimes Op-Ed
*Stop Fake: Struggle against fake information the Ukraine — a multilingual site covering Russian-directed fake news in Ukraine
*The Pocket Guide to Bullshit Prevention
*This Is How Your Fear and Outrage Are Being Sold for Profit
*Botometer — a tool for detecting bots on Twitter
*Contains Dutch descriptions about Dutch, Belgian and English fake news sites
*SMHoaxSlayer — Social Media Hoax Slayer investigates fake news in IndiaIndia’s millions of new Internet users are falling for fake news — sometimes with deadly consequences by Vidhi Doshi (October 1, 2017 at 9:48 PM) The Washington Post.
*People are bad at spotting fake news. Can computer programs do better? There’s just too much misinformation online for human fact-checkers to catch it all. by Maria Temming (1:30pm, July 26, 2018) Science News
*Junk News Aggregator — tracks the distribution of "junk news" on Facebook
===Interactives===
*Fake it to make it Game that places you into the position of a fake news site owner.
*What is ‘fake news,’ and how can you spot it? Try our quiz
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Broadcasting
Category:Deceit
 
Category:Internet
Category:Media hysteria
Category:Moral panics
Category:Propaganda