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    Fake news and polarisation is coming from the far right

    Hard right dominates use of fake US news, Oxford study finds
    Research increases pressure on Facebook and Twitter to rein in false information

    Ultra-rightwing conservatives shared more false stories on Facebook*than all other political groups combined in the three months to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address last month, independent researchers have found.*

    Academics at the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute analysed the political affiliations and posting patterns of almost 48,000 public Facebook pages and 14,000 Twitter users to identify which groups posted the most misinformation from dubious websites.

    The analysis, one of the most extensive studies to date of fake news on social media, is likely to increase the pressure on tech companies to tackle misinformation online, particularly because of its focus on the scope of false information.

    The researchers found that groups on both extremes of the political spectrum consumed and shared the most junk news in a period between October 2017 and January this year.

    However, ultra-rightwing “hard conservatives”*shared the most misinformation while accounts that tweeted*hashtags favouring*Mr Trump dominated junk news posting on Twitter.

    “There is increasing evidence of a rise in polarisation in the US news landscape in response to the 2016 [presidential] election,” the researchers found.

    “Trust in news is strikingly divided across ideological lines, and an ecosystem of alternative news is flourishing, fuelled by extremist, sensationalist, conspiratorial, masked commentary, fake news and other forms of junk news.”

    The researchers used machine learning to identify 13 ideological groups that they classified in categories ranging from “hard conservative” to the “Occupy” movement and “women’s rights”.

    On Facebook, the hard conservative group shared links to more than 90 per cent of the sites identified by the researchers as sources of “propaganda and ideologically extreme, hyper-partisan and conspiratorial political information”.

    The research, which has not been peer-reviewed, found that different ideological groups*were deeply polarised. Trump supporters were the most isolated on Twitter, sharing fewest links to stories that were also mentioned by other groups.

    According to Lisa-Maria Neudert, one of the Oxford researchers, the inaccurate stories shared before Mr Trump’s State of the Union address on January 30 included an article that said flu vaccines were “the greatest medical fraud in the history of the world”. Another claimed the EU was underpinned by “Luciferian” ideology.

    The study also looked at whether the groups shared articles that fell into at least three out of five “junk” categories, including failing to provide real information about authors, mimicking real news organisations or sharing exaggeratedly partisan views.

    Social media companies have long argued that their businesses rely on users being able to share stories without censorship. However, this idea has come under question since it was revealed that a Russian troll farm reached nearly 150m Facebook users ahead of the*presidential election in 2016.

    According to research by the Reuters Institute, almost half of surveyed US social media users now use Facebook for news.

    Pressure for regulatory action against tech platforms is increasing across Europe. Last year, Germany introduced fines of up to €50m for companies that do not remove hate speech or fake news within 24 hours of receiving a complaint.

    As tech companies moved to head off criticism, Facebook revealed*wide-ranging changes to its news feed last month in an effort to prioritise “high-quality” news that is “trustworthy, informative and local”.

    “People want to see accurate information on Facebook — and so do we,” Facebook said. “We are disrupting the economic incentives because we know most false news is financially motivated.”
    https://www.ft.com/content/611d5c90-...7-42f857ea9f09

    Insert false dichotomy here.



    Jesus, look at that skew. And particularly note the isolation score, even ignoring the "Trump supporters" - mainstream conservative media is a fact-free bubble. Guess who was projecting over "safe spaces" and echo chambers...
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  2. #2
    Herald of the Titans
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    Unless I'm reading it wrong, it says the research hasn't even been peer reviewed yet. Hard to take it seriously at this moment.

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    Merely a Setback PACOX's Avatar
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    Of course. Everything is a conspiracy to those people unless it feeds into their narrative(s). Facts are real, they are just distractions and cover ups.

    Resident Cosplay Progressive

  4. #4
    I didn't need the research to confirm what I already knew, but it's nice to have one's beliefs validated in any case.

  5. #5
    The Undying Cthulhu 2020's Avatar
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    I'm almost more concerned about the "group cohesiveness" score being so high than I am about it being fake.

    Trumpers are circle jerking their news around.
    2014 Gamergate: "If you want games without hyper sexualized female characters and representation, then learn to code!"
    2023: "What's with all these massively successful games with ugly (realistic) women? How could this have happened?!"

  6. #6
    Not surprising. I'm sure the 'woke independents' will be here shortly to tell us that fake news, or both sides are equal, or Trump Derangement Syndrome, or deep state, or what have you.

    Oh, and remember that the creators of literal fake news flat-out said that Trump supporters were much easier targets.

    The research does need peer review, though.
    "We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both."
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    The Undying Cthulhu 2020's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Celista View Post
    I didn't need the research to confirm what I already knew, but it's nice to have one's beliefs validated in any case.
    Just wait until people come in and start criticizing sample size or sample gathering methodology and other such nonsense like that.
    2014 Gamergate: "If you want games without hyper sexualized female characters and representation, then learn to code!"
    2023: "What's with all these massively successful games with ugly (realistic) women? How could this have happened?!"

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Butter Emails View Post
    I'm almost more concerned about the "group cohesiveness" score being so high than I am about it being fake.

    Trumpers are circle jerking their news around.
    Turns out a policy of isolationism and hate for the "other" tends to alienate people.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Covfefe the Strong View Post
    Unless I'm reading it wrong, it says the research hasn't even been peer reviewed yet. Hard to take it seriously at this moment.
    Hmm, looked them up, it's actually hard to find much on this specific research because they're so prolific on the topic. They've done a lot of work... sounds like fascinating stuff.
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    Look Batman really isn't an accurate source by any means
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  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Mormolyce View Post
    https://www.ft.com/content/611d5c90-...7-42f857ea9f09

    Insert false dichotomy here.



    Jesus, look at that skew. And particularly note the isolation score, even ignoring the "Trump supporters" - mainstream conservative media is a fact-free bubble. Guess who was projecting over "safe spaces" and echo chambers...
    As evidence may I point you to the Fox News article post made by one of our resident "ultras" that got closed due to it peddling conspiracy theory nonsense?
    Quote Originally Posted by Redtower View Post
    I don't think I ever hide the fact I was a national socialist. The fact I am a German one is what technically makes me a nazi
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    You haven't seen nothing yet, we trumpsters will definitely be getting some cool uniforms soon I hope.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by alexw View Post
    As evidence may I point you to the Fox News article post made by one of our resident "ultras" that got closed due to it peddling conspiracy theory nonsense?
    If you don't like X and liberals don't like Y, that doesn't mean X and Y are equally suspect.

  11. #11
    Banned GennGreymane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Butter Emails View Post
    I'm almost more concerned about the "group cohesiveness" score being so high than I am about it being fake.

    Trumpers are circle jerking their news around.
    Both sides do this. We must not support it at all!

    Cheers

  12. #12
    Scarab Lord Zaydin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GennGreymane View Post
    Both sides do this. We must not support it at all!

    Cheers
    If that is meant to be an Ally impersonation it's pretty spot on.

  13. #13
    Void Lord Felya's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zaydin View Post
    If that is meant to be an Ally impersonation it's pretty spot on.
    Not enough skiing... too obscure of a reference?
    Folly and fakery have always been with us... but it has never before been as dangerous as it is now, never in history have we been able to afford it less. - Isaac Asimov
    Every damn thing you do in this life, you pay for. - Edith Piaf
    The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. - Orwell
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  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by GennGreymane View Post
    Both sides do this. We must not support it at all!

    Cheers
    But if you look at the graph, even the most extreme group on the left (the Resistance movement online) is only slightly more insular than mainstream conservative media. Trump supporters are a huge outlier, and the right in general is far further down the isolation scale than the left. It's not equivalent at all.
    Quote Originally Posted by Tojara View Post
    Look Batman really isn't an accurate source by any means
    Quote Originally Posted by Hooked View Post
    It is a fact, not just something I made up.

  15. #15
    Banned GennGreymane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mormolyce View Post
    But if you look at the graph, even the most extreme group on the left (the Resistance movement online) is only slightly more insular than mainstream conservative media. Trump supporters are a huge outlier, and the right in general is far further down the isolation scale than the left. It's not equivalent at all.
    But you dont understand. You need to broaden your horizons to understand that both sides are the same. I am an independent.

    Have a wonderful day!

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by GennGreymane View Post
    But you dont understand. You need to broaden your horizons to understand that both sides are the same. I am an independent.

    Have a wonderful day!
    Oh I see what you did there.
    Quote Originally Posted by Tojara View Post
    Look Batman really isn't an accurate source by any means
    Quote Originally Posted by Hooked View Post
    It is a fact, not just something I made up.

  17. #17
    Can't wait until the usual suspects who are the living embodiment of this process bitch about these findings like @tiajuana and @zenkai

    Who wants the over under bet on theo and her but hillary post?
    “Logic: The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding.”
    "Conservative, n: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal who wishes to replace them with others."
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  18. #18
    Banned GennGreymane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shimerra View Post
    Can't wait until the usual suspects who are the living embodiment of this process bitch about these findings like @tiajuana and @zenkai

    Who wants the over under bet on theo and her but hillary post?
    Hillary is just as bad

    cheers

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by GennGreymane View Post
    Hillary is just as bad

    cheers
    Who are you voting for in the next election, Mr. Independent?

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sormine View Post
    Who are you voting for in the next election, Mr. Independent?
    I will vote for the better of the two. I would rather not vote for the lesser of two evils.

    Have a blessed day

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