Reality Bytes

“Fake news means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but we are specifically focused on the worst of the worst — clear intentional hoaxes” After taking heat for the spread of lies masquerading as news on its platform, Facebook has announced a new system that pairs user reporting with fact checkers to slow the stream of fake news. (If Kanye West meeting with President-elect Trump is the real news, maybe we’re better off with the fake stuff.)

+ Jeff Jarvis: Facebook steps up. (If Facebook itself is determined to fight fake news, maybe you can help out by making your unctuous family holiday photos a little more realistic this year.)

+ Fake news is a big problem. But there are other more subtle (but often more powerful) ways the media had an impact on election 2016. One of them is the amount of coverage given to certain topics. I covered that in this post: The First Rough Draft of History is Too Rough. Another is the simple timing of stories. For example, two big stories came out on October 7. Only one went viral. (And it wasn’t the one about Russian hacking). This is how pus*y won.