Suggestion for reading (was Fwd: [liberationtech] Fake News)

Steve Kinney admin at pilobilus.net
Mon Dec 26 07:45:30 PST 2016


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On 12/25/2016 09:41 AM, Cecilia Tanaka wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Yosem Companys" 
> Date: Dec 9, 2016 1:51 AM Subject: [liberationtech] Fake News To:
> "Liberation Technologies" <liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu 
> <mailto:liberationtech at lists.stanford.edu>>,
> 
> Anyone know of any academic studies showing that fake (social
> media) news influenced the 2016 presidential election outcome?

Not me, and I think it's not likely that such a study will turn up any
time soon.  A study analyzing the impact of "fake news" would have to
present a defensible thesis based on begging the question, as "fake
news" is a buzzword promoted by a propaganda campaign.

As an example of actually fake news, I would cite the Big Lie that
Russia "interfered with" the election.  Numerous unsourced allegations
presented as straight news grew up around one press release from one
Department of Homeland Security dated October 7, 2016, asserting that
Russia interfered with the Presidential election.

Note that this was a press release, a.k.a. propaganda placement.  Its
content is attributed to the USIC (United States Intelligence
Community).  As there is no such agency or department, this
speculative assertion can not be attributed to any formal process or
responsible party, which confirms its status as fake news:

"The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like
DCLeaks .com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are
consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed
efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with
the US election process."

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2016/10/07/joint-statement-department-homeland-
security-and-office-director-national

No causal link is presented connecting Russian "methods and
motivations" with disclosures "intended to interfere with the US
election process."  The statement presents an example of transfer, a
widely recognized classic propaganda technique.

Subsequent stories asserting that the CIA has confirmed this
speculation follow this template:  A reporter says an anonymous source
claimed an unnamed senior intelligence official told them that
unspecified secret information confirms Russian involvement in
releasing incriminating DNC e-mails to Wikileaks.

The Obama Administration propaganda placement blaming the leak on
Russia was a component of a larger campaign to demonize Trump by
depicting his stated willingness to negotiate with Russia as proof of
collaboration with a foreign enemy.  Post-election, it became the
rarely-cited but always referenced cornerstone of a separate campaign
asserting that the election was stolen by Russia and Trump.

The content of the leaked documents this camapign references indicates
that Clinton's DNC conspired to steal the primary from Sanders.  News
stories about "Russia interfering" never deny that the leaked
documents are authentic, because drawing any attention to their
content would defeat the diversionary purpose of the entire Big Lie
campaign:  Blame Russia, not the DNC, for handing Trump the Presidency.

The original DHS propaganda placement is the best known and most often
repeated Big Lie of the election.  But, even after showing that it
presents an example of "fake news" - a very defensible proposition -
how can an academic develop persuasive evidence that this fake news
influenced the outcome of the Presidential election?

:o)







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