[Air-L] Fake News

Raphael Tsavkko tsavkko at yahoo.com.br
Fri Dec 9 10:09:19 PST 2016 

I"d say that misinformation is not exactly the same thing as fake new. Saying
that Aliens invaded the US last week is not just misinformation, is completely
fake, therefore, fake news.  One thing is having a side, is reading the news
or reality in a different way,  other thing is bias, and a very different
issue is fake news, that is the pure fabrication of facts.

  

"News is socially constructed" may apply in some cases (I'm not a huge fan of
this[post]modernist approach of "everything is socially constructed", despite
the fact that I do adopt constructivists approaches in my research, let's try
to debate it), but in many cases there's pure and simple fabrication of facts.
If I publish that Obama was not born in the US there's no room for saying that
this might be fake to some and true to others, it's simply fake. The fact that
some news outlets spread such "news" and that some people may believe it
doesn't make it less... fake.  

  

best,  

  
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia  

University of Deusto

![](https://link.nylas.com/open/ab5722yn3oe1fpn5wftk70yo7/local-
a38e8b0b-c737?r=YWlyLWxAbGlzdHNlcnYuYW9pci5vcmc=)

  
On Dez 9 2016, at 6:53 pm, Julia DeCook <julia.decook at gmail.com> wrote:  

> Misinformation I think is the proper term. Misinformation online has been  
studied by researchers before in terms of the rejection of science and  
conspiracy theories. Lewandowsky et al. and Bessi et al. have interesting  
articles about it.

>

> WHO came out with a report in 2013 about the problem in terms of medical  
misinformation. These might be fruitful in terms of understanding fake news  
spread.

>

> On Dec 9, 2016 12:38 PM, "MC Cambre" <mcambre at ualberta.ca> wrote:

>

> > Instead of fake news, how about disinformation? The partial and/or  
> misleading of unverified events posing as information but tending more  
> towards gossip, scandal and slander, with the intent to polarize debate and  
> damage reputations. Often put forth from behind masked partisan lenses.  
>  
> On Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 12:23 PM, Todd O'Neill <Todd.O'Neill at mtsu.edu>  
> wrote:  
>  
> > FWIW, I think the term "fake news" gives this term a kind of legitimacy.  
> > News is news. When we differentiate between real and fake news we're on  
> > slippery slope.  
> > We have adopted a term put forth by popular media not necessarily  
> > journalists.  
> > I don't know what the term should be. Commentary seems to be part of the  
> > label I think.  
> > Any thoughts?  
> >  
> >  
> > Sent from my iPhone  
> >  
> > > On Dec 9, 2016, at 11:16 AM, MC Cambre <mcambre at ualberta.ca> wrote:  
> > >  
> > > Worthy point and well noted.  
> > > Pedagogically, I stress the difference between image and substance,  
> and I  
> > > teach about the word propaganda and how it rose and fell in  
> popularity. I  
> > > don't know if anyone uses this piece from 1952, I found it a gem for  
> > > helping students view critically.  
> > > "Propaganda Techniques In Institutional Advertising" BY LEONARD 1.  
> > PEARLIN  
> > > AND MORRIS ROSENBERG 1952 in PUBLIC OPINION QUARTERLY, SPRING  
> > >  
> > > It specifically points to institutional advertising, but we can say  
> that  
> > > much that is being called fake news uses these techniques.  
> > >  
> > > For what it is worth!  
> > > cc  
> > >  
> > >  
> > >> On Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 9:47 AM, Sarah Ann Oates <soates at umd.edu>  
> wrote:  
> > >>  
> > >> Just have to jump here and refer to the comment above that noted that  
> > >> "What's  
> > >> accurate news for one group  
> > >> may be fake news for another. News is socially constructed." That is  
> > >> certainly a dominant guiding principle from communication studies BUT  
> > what  
> > >> that is very different from news that is deliberately constructed as  
> > >> propaganda. There is indeed a central organizing principle of news in  
> > the  
> > >> service of society -- it can failed or weak, but journalism as a  
> > profession  
> > >> in the United States is concerned with the broader principle that news  
> > >> creates informed citizens and without informed citizens you cannot  
> have  
> > a  
> > >> democracy. You cannot have a democracy without journalism. So the  
> > >> journalism may be flawed and -- in the case of the US -- in particular  
> > >> challenged by a failing economic model of traditional media outlets as  
> > >> advertising shifts to more powerful social-media outlets, etc. There  
> is  
> > a  
> > >> qualitative difference between the attempt to inform the public and  
> the  
> > >> attempt to deceive the public. We can measure the value of news by  
> > criteria  
> > >> such as giving voice to both sides, an attempt to explain issues,  
> > quoting  
> > >> accurately, attempting to give facts, owning up to and correcting an  
> > >> errors, attempting to be objective. As an ex-journalist and a  
> journalism  
> > >> educator, I ask people to stop saying that news and propaganda are  
> > really  
> > >> the same thing. I've heard it for years and it's simply not true. Many  
> > >> journalists risk their lives to bring us as close to the truth as they  
> > can.  
> > >> Propagandists deliberately lie, cheat, deceive, misinform and seek to  
> > use  
> > >> information for their own means. And yes, I know the arguments about  
> > media  
> > >> in service to the state, in service to capitalism, in service to  
> > communism,  
> > >> in service to a media owner etc. But please, people, as communication  
> > >> scholars we need to recognize, support, and try to make better the ONE  
> > >> THING between us and authoritarianism -- a free press.  
> > >>  
> > >>  
> > >>  
> > >> On Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 9:31 AM, Joshua Braun <jabraun at journ.umass.edu  
> >  
> > >> wrote:  
> > >>  
> > >>> Also, there's the Nature voting study, which—while not on news  
> > >>> specifically—might be seen as raising some interesting questions  
> about  
> > >>> whether messages circulated via social media might be more  
> influential  
> > >>> because of the social context. I.e., When news is circulated via  
> social  
> > >>> networks it is often being spread *by* influencers, which affects the  
> > >>> fit with traditional two-step flow models.  
> > >>>  
> > >>> [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v489/n7415/full/](http://www.nat
ure.com/nature/journal/v489/n7415/full/&r=YWlyLWxAbGlzdHNlcnYuYW9pci5vcmc=)  
> nature11421.html  
> > >>>  
> > >>> Not arguing a side here. Just suggesting that applying Lazarsfeld,  
> etc.  
> > >>> might require some rethinking of context.  
> > >>>  
> > >>> Cheers,  
> > >>> Josh  
> > >>>  
> > >>>> On 12/09/2016 08:36 AM, Jeanine Finn wrote:  
> > >>>> There is a study of the 2004 elections that might be useful while we  
> > >>> wait for the dust to settle from 2016.  
> > >>>>  
> > >>>> Carlson, M. (2007). Blogs and journalistic authority. Journalism  
> > >>> Studies, 8(2) <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/  
> > >>> 14616700601148861>, 264–279. doi:10.1080/14616700601148861  
> > >>>>  
> > >>>> This paper asserts that the role of blogs cannot be adequately  
> > >>> understood without examining the established media context in which  
> > they  
> > >>> appear. Blogs operate along side, in conjunction with, and in  
> > opposition  
> > >> to  
> > >>> established vehicles for political information, which creates tension  
> > >> among  
> > >>> journalists seeking to preserve their authority. As a site to observe  
> > the  
> > >>> blog-traditional journalism relationship, this article examines the  
> > >>> reaction by journalists and others to blogs’ role in US Election Day  
> > 2004  
> > >>> coverage. Much of the attention by journalists focuses on assessing  
> the  
> > >>> well-publicized decision by some blogs to release incomplete exit  
> polls  
> > >>> erroneously predicting a victory for Democratic candidate John Kerry.  
> > >> This  
> > >>> discourse works to make sense of the status and credibility of blogs  
> > >> while  
> > >>> simultaneously allowing journalists to negotiate their role as  
> > >>> authoritative providers of political news. Ultimately, the discourse  
> > >>> underlines the dynamism of news in a contemporary media environment  
> > >> marked  
> > >>> by new forms of complexity and competitiveness.  
> > >>>> [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14616700601148861](http:/
/www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14616700601148861&r=YWlyLWxAbGlzdHNlcnYuY
W9pci5vcmc=) <  
> > >>> [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14616700601148861>](http:/
/www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14616700601148861>&r=YWlyLWxAbGlzdHNlcnYu
YW9pci5vcmc=)  
> > >>>>  
> > >>>>  
> > >>>>  
> > >>>>> On Dec 9, 2016, at 7:29 AM, Yosem Companys <companys at stanford.edu  
> > >>> <mailto:companys at stanford.edu>> wrote:  
> > >>>>>  
> > >>>>> Exactly. I was wondering whether anyone has studied whether news --  
> > >>> fake or  
> > >>>>> real -- had any tangible effect on the 2016 election outcome.  
> > Wouldn't  
> > >>>>> Lazarsfeld et al. say "no," at least not directly?  
> > >>>>>  
> > >>>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lazarsfeld <  
> > >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Lazarsfeld>  
> > >>>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-step_flow_of_communication  
> > >>>>>  
> > >>>>> There is a long tradition of studying the effects of news on  
> people's  
> > >>>>> attitudes (or attitude change). My recollection is that news in and  
> > of  
> > >>>>> itself has little influence on people's attitudes unless mediated  
> by  
> > >> an  
> > >>>>> influencer (i.e., hence Lazarsfeld 2-step flow of communication).  
> But  
> > >>>>> experiments show the opposite: News has a strong effect on people's  
> > >>>>> attitudes, though the effect wanes over time.  
> > >>>>>  
> > >>>>> Anyone studied 2016 from this perspective?  
> > >>>>>  
> > >>>>> On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 9:20 PM, Ronald E. Rice <  
> rrice at comm.ucsb.edu>  
> > >>> wrote:  
> > >>>>>  
> > >>>>>> Perhaps more important and interesting: anyone have any studies  
> > >> showing  
> > >>>>>> that real (accurate, true) news influenced the 2016 presidential  
> > >>> election  
> > >>>>>> outcome? ;=)  
> > >>>>>> \--  
> > >>>>>> Ronald E. Rice  
> > >>>>>> Arthur N. Rupe Professor in the Social Effects of Mass  
> Communication  
> > >>>>>> International Communication Association President 2006-2007  
> > >>>>>> Dept. of Communication, 4005 Social Sciences & Media Studies Bldg  
> > >>> (SSMS)  
> > >>>>>> University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4020  
> > >>>>>> Ph: 805-893-8696; Fax: 805-893-7102  
> > >>>>>> rrice at comm.ucsb.edu; [http://www.comm.ucsb.edu/](http://www.comm.uc
sb.edu/&r=YWlyLWxAbGlzdHNlcnYuYW9pci5vcmc=)  
> people/ronald-e-rice  
> > >>>>>>  
> > >>>>>>  
> > >>>>>> Quoting Yosem Companys <companys at stanford.edu>:  
> > >>>>>>  
> > >>>>>> Anyone know of any academic studies showing that fake (social  
> media)  
> > >>> news  
> > >>>>>>> influenced the 2016 presidential election outcome?  
> > >>>>>>>  
> > >>>>>>> Thanks,  
> > >>>>>>> Yosem  
> > >>>>>>> _______________________________________________  
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> > >>>>  
> > >>>>  
> > >>>> <\---------------------------------------------------->  
> > >>>> Jeanine Finn, PhD  
> > >>>> Researcher  
> > >>>> School of Information  
> > >>>> University of Texas at Austin  
> > >>>> jefinn at utexas.edu <mailto:jefinn at utexas.edu>  
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W9pci5vcmc=) <http://jeaninefinn.me/>  
> > >>>>  
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> > >>>  
> > >>> \--  
> > >>> Josh Braun, Ph.D.  
> > >>> Assistant Professor of Journalism Studies  
> > >>> Journalism Department  
> > >>> University of Massachusetts Amherst  
> > >>>  
> > >>> @josh_braun  
> > >>> Skype: wideaperture  
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> > >>> new book: [http://yalebooks.com/book/9780300197501/program-
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> you  
> > >>>  
> > >>> "Maybe the only gift is a chance to inquire, to know nothing for  
> > certain.  
> > >>> An inheritance of wonder and nothing more."  
> > >>> William Least Heat-Moon  
> > >>>  
> > >>>  
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> > >>  
> > >>  
> > >>  
> > >> \--  
> > >> Sarah Oates  
> > >> Professor and Senior Scholar  
> > >> Philip Merrill College of Journalism  
> > >> University of Maryland  
> > >> College Park, MD 20457  
> > >> Email: soates at umd.edu  
> > >> Phone: 301 405 4510  
> > >> _______________________________________________  
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> > >  
> > >  
> > >  
> > > \--  
> > > \--  
> > >  
> > >  
> > >  
> > >  
> > >  
> > >  
> > > *Carolina Cambre PhD Assistant Professor Concordia University, Montreal  
> > > Centre for Global Citizenship Education & Research Fellow Affiliate of  
> > > Concordia University - Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling  
> > > [http://storytelling.concordia.ca/content/cambre-
carolina](http://storytelling.concordia.ca/content/cambre-
carolina&r=YWlyLWxAbGlzdHNlcnYuYW9pci5vcmc=)  
> > > <http://storytelling.concordia.ca/content/cambre-carolina> Book:  
> > > [http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-semiotics-of-che-
guevara-](http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-semiotics-of-che-
guevara-&r=YWlyLWxAbGlzdHNlcnYuYW9pci5vcmc=)  
> 9781472505293/  
> > > <http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-semiotics-of-che-guevara-  
> > 9781472505293/>*  
> > > <http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-semiotics-of-che-guevara-  
> > 9781472505293/>  
> > > _______________________________________________  
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> >  
>  
>  
>  
> \--  
> \--  
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
> *Carolina Cambre PhD Assistant Professor Concordia University, Montreal  
> Centre for Global Citizenship Education & Research Fellow Affiliate of  
> Concordia University - Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling  
> [http://storytelling.concordia.ca/content/cambre-
carolina](http://storytelling.concordia.ca/content/cambre-
carolina&r=YWlyLWxAbGlzdHNlcnYuYW9pci5vcmc=)  
> <http://storytelling.concordia.ca/content/cambre-carolina> Book:  
> [http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-semiotics-of-che-
guevara-9781472505293/](http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-semiotics-of-che-
guevara-9781472505293/&r=YWlyLWxAbGlzdHNlcnYuYW9pci5vcmc=)  
> <http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-semiotics-of-che-guevara-9781472505293/  
> >*  
> <http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-semiotics-of-che-guevara-9781472505293/>  
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