Kevin Cheng

Professor Colombo

UWRT 1104-007

19 February 2017

What is the Effect of Fake News and How Should It Be Contained?

Research Journal Entry 1

Citation
Holan, Angie Drobnic. "PolitiFact's 2016 Lie of the Year: Fake News." PolitiFact. 13 Dec. 2016.

Main Claim
1. Because of its powerful symbolism in an election year filled with rampant and
outrageous lying -- PolitiFact is naming Fake News the 2016 winner (Holan).
2. Due to the high amount of lies during the election year, PolitiFact is calling 2016 the
Fake News winner.
Summary of the Source
2016 has been a special year in terms of the spread of fake news. The article mentions some of
the most notable fake news events that occurred during 2016. Facebook and Google, combined
with a lie-filled Presidential race, produced an all-time high amount of fake news. The reasoning
for posting fake news is that it generates money for the writer, through the advertisements on the
web page. It has been noted that news on Donald Trump generates a large amount of money,
also resulting in many anti-Clinton articles. A few professionals have agreed that the lies from
the election may have had an influence on the outcome. Evan McCullin, a former CIA officer,
says to be very well-informed and learn to discern truth from untruth (Holan).
Evaluation of the Source
The article is a recently published piece that informs the public about a very recent problem. The
article displays the contact information and all the researchers who participated in this work.
The source appears to be unbiased and reliable, as it uses actual events for examples. It
contributes to the research question by providing evidence of fake news.
Important Quotations
But in 2016, most viral lies spread on Facebook. They were reinforced by Google searches, in
which stories from dubious sites jumped to the top of your screen based on traffic (Holan).
Creators of fake news found that they could capture so much interest that they could make
money off fake news through automated advertising that rewards high traffic to their sites
(Holan).
 Research Journal Entry 2
Citation
Westcott, Ben. "Duped by fake news story, Pakistani minister threatens nuclear war with

Israel." CNN. Cable News Network, 26 Dec. 2016.

Main Claim
1. The large quantities of fake news on the internet has regularly made headlines in the past
few months, blamed with affecting real events around the world. (Westcott).
2. The large amount of fake news on the internet has recently been on headlines the past few
months. Around the world, it has been associated with influencing real events.
Summary of the Source
Due to a fake news article, two countries were a step closer to total nuclear war. Despite having
no evidence, the article, published by AWDNews, had claimed that a former Israeli Defense
Minister threatened to use nuclear force, if Pakistan engages in military action against ISIS in
Syria. The Pakistani Defense Minister thought it was a real quote from the Israeli Defense
Minister, and then threatened nuclear retaliation via Twitter. Shortly after, the Israeli Defense
Minister cleared the confusion by tweeting; The statement attributed to (former Defense
Minister) Yaalon (regarding) Pakistan was never said (Westcott), and Reports referred to by the
Pakistani Defense Minister are entirely false (Westcott). Afterwards, the Pakistani Defense
Minister stated that their nuclear program was only a deterrence to protect our freedom
(Westcott).
Evaluation of the Source
The article is a recently published piece that informs the public about a potential disaster. The
article displays the writers name, and is from a credible news network. The source appears to be
unbiased, as its purpose is just to inform. It contributes to the research question by providing an
example of the dangers of fake news.
Important Quotations
In an article published by AWDNews on Tuesday December 20, former Israeli Defense Minister
Moshe Yaalon was quoted as threatening to destroy Pakistan if it sent troops into Syria
(Westcott).
Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif responded to the fake news article on his official
Twitter as if it were real. He warned Israel that it was not the only nuclear power (Westcott).
Less than a day later, the Israeli Ministry of Defense responded on Twitter, notifying Asif the
Yaalon statement quoted in AWDNews was completely false (Westcott).

Research Journal Entry 3

Citation
Bohn, Kevin, Daniel Allman, and Greg Clark. "Gun-brandishing man sought to investigate fake

news story site, police say." CNN. Cable News Network, 5 Dec. 2016.

Main Claim
1. Pizza Gate is a name given to the online false news stories begun last month that
charged the Comet Ping Pong restaurant and its owner were involved in a child sex
operation. The owner has vehemently denied the charges, but they continued to
proliferate online. The owner and employees said they were repeatedly threatened on
social media (Bohn).
2. Pizza Gate refers to the online fake news that accused the Comet Ping Pong restaurant
and its owner of running a child sex ring. Although the owner has denied the charges, the
stories still spread online. The owner and employees claimed they were threatened often
on social media.
Summary of the Source
Pizza Gate, a conspiracy that claimed a restaurant was running a child sex ring, had been
circulating around the internet for a few months. People on social media had started to threaten
the owner and the employees, even after the owner repeatedly denied the claims. The fake news
articles even caused a man to investigate the claim. The man, acting on fake news articles,
bought an assault rifle to the restaurant, and cleared out all customers. Witnesses say that he was
holding a shotgun, and described the clearing out as a very swift, quick exit, everyone moved
out very smoothly (Bohn). The man was later apprehended by the police outside the restaurant.
No one was hurt during and after the incident. Police have charged the man with assault with a
dangerous weapon (Bohn).
Evaluation of the Source
The article is a recently published piece that informs the public about an incident involving fake
news. The article displays the writers name, and is from a credible news network. The source
appears to be unbiased, as its purpose is just to inform. It contributes to the research question by
providing an example of the dangers of fake news.
Important Quotations
"What happened today demonstrates that promoting false and reckless conspiracy theories comes
with consequences. I hope that those involved in fanning these flames will take a moment to
contemplate what happened here today, and stop promoting these falsehoods right away,"
Alefantis told CNN (Bohn).

Research Journal Entry 4

Citation
Wakabayashi, Daisuke, and Mike Issac. "In Race Against Fake News, Google and Facebook

Stroll to the Starting Line." Nytimes. New York Times, 25 Jan. 2017.

Main Claim
1. Google and Facebook have been taking steps to curb the number of false news articles
propagated across their sites (Wakabayashi).
2. Google and Facebook have started to reduce the amount of fake news articles posted on
their sites.
Summary of the Source
Fake news had been spreading rapidly, due to the unintentional help of Google and Facebook.
Due to the amount of criticism, Google and Facebook have started to take action against fake
news. Critics have claimed that both companies had little responsibility they take for any of the
content that appears on their platforms (Wakabayashi). As a result, Google reviewed 550 sites
suspected of spreading fake news, where they took action on 340 sites and banned about 200
sites. Google even expanded their policy of outlawing misrepresentative content to include
outlawing sites impersonating news sites. Facebook responded with a change to their Trending
Topics section, so that only articles from a reliable source can be shared. Meanwhile, industry
watchers are unsure whether the new policies could work, as nothing drives clicks better than
when the headline is exactly what people want to hear or believe (Wakabayashi).
Evaluation of the Source
The article is a recently published piece that informs the public about two of the biggest
companies actions against fake news. The article displays the writers names and contact
information. The source appears to be unbiased and reliable, as its purpose is to inform the
public. It contributes to the research question by providing a solution to fake news.
Important Quotations
Google said it had permanently banned nearly 200 publishers from its AdSense advertising
network near the end of last year to choke off websites that try to deceive users from its online
ad service (Wakabayashi).
Facebook introduced changes to its Trending Topics feature a part of the social network that
some have blamed for spreading false information to promote reliable news articles
(Wakabayashi).

Research Journal Entry 5

Citation
Higgins, Andrew, Mike McIntire, and Gabriel Dance. "Websites Hit A Gold Mine In Fake

News." (2016). Academic Search Complete.

Main Claim
1. Mr. Latsabidze said his only incentive was to make money from Google ads by luring
people off Facebook pages and onto his website (Higgins).
2. The only incentive of producing fake news is making money from the automated Google
ads when people visit the site.
Summary of the Source
During the 2016 Presidential Race, many people discovered that articles, both real and fake,
generated a lot of attention and money. Those who wrote pro-Trump articles tended to make
more money than pro-Clinton articles. A computer science student from the former Soviet
country of Georgia, admitted that he was only doing it for the money. He claims that if I write
bad things about Trump, I lose my audience (Higgins). Although the student was pro-Clinton,
he still wrote pro-Trump articles, because he noted that Trump supporters tended to be angry
and more eager to read outrageous tales (Higgins). He also does not view his posts as fake
news, but simply satire. Every time his site attracts a visitor, Google ads pay a few cents;
which the most he made was about $6,000 in a month through the ads.
Evaluation of the Source
The article is a recently published piece that informs the public about the reasoning behind
producing fake news. The source appears to be reliable, as it is a peer-reviewed scholarly article,
and also displays the writers. It contributes to the research question by providing evidence and
reasoning behind fake news.
Important Quotations
My audience likes Trump, I dont want to write bad things about Trump. If I write bad things
about Trump, I lose my audience (Higgins).
Some analysts worry that foreign intelligence agencies are meddling in American politics and
using fake news to influence elections (Higgins).
For me, this is all about income, nothing more (Higgins).