#that mixed with social media websites becoming more reactionary in general with the rise in far right bigotry in the us

[punk-raphaelite]

Are you fucking kidding me

[kindabraveandlittlestupid]

We live in a Strange New World where society is not necessarily repressed from receiving information but perhaps saturated in it and even drowning in all the news/data. The connectivity of the internet allows us to hear stories from around the world and with it we can see the chaos that has always existed with humanity (or as long as the concept of civilization has existed). It simply feels like the world is going to hell, not because it is but because we are now more acutely aware of news overseas and across the country that we were ignorant too before.

In this tidal wave of information, we would hope and expect the media (and the government) to be honest with us about the facts. Many news organizations (typically papers) hold onto the old values of ethics, accuracy, and honesty but it struggles as a dying medium and is desperately trying to adapt to survive. News Networks inch further into the partisan newscasting to maintain their number of viewers and we see more theater among those channels of people ‘debating’ for the sake of having a fight take place before us instead of providing the viewers the best form of the argument and make us more knowledgeable citizens and voters. Then on the fringes, hundreds of Left and Right ‘news sites’ strip context away and reduce speeches to consumable sound bites to push their agenda. What is terrifying about these fringe groups is not the fact they exist but their memes and stories pick up traction so quickly now, racing to news networks within days or even hours, becoming a popular belief among people and forcing the more accurate news organizations to step in and clarify that the story coming from the fringe websites are false.

We have seen steps to try and stem this tide of progressive and conservative misinformation sites by the rise of fact-checking websites, the slow to move banning/restriction of these groups on Social Media (Twitter/Facebook) and larger reputable organizations taking a moment to sweep away the literal fake news stories and keep people focuses on the real news stories. All of this feels like an uphill battle though with Commander in Chief who is more likely to repeat one of those false news stories on twitter instead of using the comprehensive intelligent reports that come across his desk literally. Feels as though we are kind of fucked until he is out of office, yeah?

This post is a general guide to fact-checking the stories you read and the stories other people post to their walls. It is INSANELY important to have the correct information at our fingertips and build Voter Immunity to false information and be ok with admitting (for a moment) that we were tricked by fake news and correct ourselves for the betterment of ourselves and society. I have read fake news articles and heard false numbers in interviews which I took as fact but was completely wrong about. I am guilty of not fact checking and because I failed to do so for a time I had that fake information orbit my beliefs and sadly when you have one false belief it calls into suspect all other valid beliefs and also opens the door for more false beliefs to take hold. So here is my guide to fact-checking your news sources and the articles from people you might occasionally debate with online.

Fact Checking Sites

These sites are the first/best options for a quick fact check on both memes and false news stories. These organizations act much the same way cybersecurity, they are never ahead of the trend on a fake news story but after a few days, they usually have a pretty accurate answer to the story ranging from true to mixed opinions to downright false. 

On a side note, this is a wonderful way to measure someone's credibility and more importantly how entrenched they are in their views. As a pretty Liberal guy, I enjoy posting a fact checks on memes from the Right Side of the spectrum. If their reaction is Snopes, Politifact, and other sites like those are “Those are just liberal lies”. Then you are encountering man (or woman) who is tightly wrapped in a blanket of false information and is so deep in their foxhole that they may never come out. If you have the patience to coax them out with empathy and sensible arguments do so. If you encounter someone who says “Oh I didn't realize that was fake” then you are dealing with someone more open to new information and they should be respected for their honesty and willingness to admit they were wrong (not chastised for it). I am not saying don't try to pull them towards more progressive views but always do so with well-structured arguments and honest political stances. That is how you create a long time democrats... with accurate information and empathy.

Here is a short list of fact-checking websites to utilize. 

Snopes

Politifact

Fact Check

Bias Check

Bias check is much like fact checking but instead of focusing on the story specifically but the site posting it and their history of posting questionable news stories. Far too many stories now start their life from a non-authority figure (often an idiot with an opinion on Twitter) before its picked up by a fringe site and echoed through the left or right side of the political spectrum. I am not saying we should ONLY consume mainstream or long-term publications but if a site has had a repeated history of posting fake news stories you should be suspicious of anything/everything they post.

Media Bias Fact Check

See how your favorite news sources stack up for truthfulness and where they lean politically.

Following the Thread

Following the Thread is all about working a story from front to back. Taking a post from a ‘reputable’ news service and working out where a story came from and just as importantly who posted it. Take example the Migrant Caravan in Mexico. Recently Fox News claimed that they were being paid by George Soros to come up north and participate in the 2018 election. Working back from conspiracy we found that this claims while ending at a news network and the lips of various right-wing politicians started in a hoax pumping conspiracy website called FellowshipOfTheMinds before Info Wars and various Twitter trolls became involved. It’s like the grapevine if the grapevine was a vine of toxic lies...

Here are a few ways to follow a story back from its end back to its very beginning.

Look for the Timestamps - Most stories tend to have an online presence and a good way to follow the thread is to see who has the oldest version of the story. Anything posted after is either echoing the original post or echoing well... another echo. This ripple effect is why fake news stories move so fast because a news site with no credit, will pass on to a site with tiny bit of credit, to a site with some credit, to a site with fair amount of credit, and before long it comes out of the mouth of a pundit on a network news channel presented as fact.

Look for Repetition of Information - Most journalists conduct their own research and tap their own sources writing a story which is why it takes days instead of a few short hours to present a story. With most fake new stories from fringe sites, they like to basically copy/paste the story from one of the other like-minded sites basically echoing it further. If/when you read an article see if you can find other sites that is relaying the same information. As I said look for what time it was posted to get closer to the first article and the source of the misinformation.

Seek Out Citations - Good journalism usually has a fair amount of citation in their works. They add names, professions, and dates as they comb over information and seek out a story. What you might notice in these fringe sites is the fact they don’t usually have a lot of detail involved. They imply the thing they want, say they have eyes witness but do a pretty good job of leaving out who that eyewitness was and who relayed the information. Devil is in the details or their lack of, so always look for names of organization or groups making the claims so you can google them (or run them through the media bias fact check) to see how trustworthy they maybe.

Build a Trust Worthy Network

I have removed various liberal sources from my wheelhouse of political publications. I no longer watch Now This because I feel like they are posting half stories with a fair amount of context removed. I agree with them politically but they do us no favors by being so blatantly biased. Instead of posting them try using more Vice which has more complete stories Vice News, not the Buzzfeed cultural section that tries so hard to be edgy. Adopt outside looking in news sources like Canadian, British, or Australian News (if you can) to get a broader/outsider view of American Politics. I default to BBC as a fair news source but also enjoy some of the political satire beyond our borders to give a humorous view of how our allies view us as a country. Also build a list of publications that you can read New York Times, Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and so on. Funny enough those are considered left of center which shows you how far conservative commentary has gone shifting the middle to the ‘left’.

It’s very important to be picky about the network of News sources you select. Not only to paint an accurate picture but also because you only have so much time in the day and nothing but news can literally lead to depression and apathy towards politics.

Killing The Political Meme Culture

If it can be put on a meme it's probably not worth saying. Not a bad rule of thumb for the internet culture and how it engages in politics online. Quite frankly I like memes; they can be fun, clever, and even epic. The meme culture in regards to politics has a pretty dark objective of being as corrosive and as reactionary as possible. It’s one of the trolls favorite toys to upset people and just about no political concept can be widdled down to a sentence and a picture. On reflection of my own posts, I occasionally throw a gif in to break my text wall and drive a point home.

It should be noted I am not saying Politics is sacred, in fact, American politics does well from comedy and satire chipping away absurdity of it all. Doubly important to make fun of Politicians on those mediums to keep them humble but memes? Most political memes objective isn't to display an absurdity but rather sell you another absurdity from a different party or side of the political question. They try to rip down the other side with the intent to bring you to their side. Most satire comedians (even the left ones you see on TV) will make fun of anyone acting like an idiot, the creators of these memes have their agendas and quite frankly they are polluting the discourse for both sides.

Other Tools

Here are some other tools to both help you find reputable news sources and fact check the fake news.

World Press Freedom Index - A great resource to measure countries ranking on journalism and factual reporting. Fun fact we are 45th in the world, how fucked up is that?

CRAAP Test -  Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. This is a quality way to vet your news sources and information you gather to help establish your political views.

The Wrap Up

As a progressive, I have a biased against the right, to say the least. I feel most of these tools of misinformation are utilized fully on the conservative side of politics. Conservatives (in the 2016 Election) ended up being about 30 times more likely to repeat a fake new story or meme posted by a Russian bots/trolls. I am writing this to nip in the bud the false equivalency that comes from writing a post like this. Undoubtedly more Conservative minded readers would say “Progressive use fake news too!” which is true yes... but sadly the American Red Blooded American Conservative devours this fake new content and even sides with a President who beyond belief seems to amplify and even create false narratives himself. 

Truth is for you my progressive readers we need to up our game and fact check better and more importantly apply the same tools that these far right ‘news’ websites do. The moment we apply the same tactics, the sooner we equip them to disprove those false news stories and then allow them to call into question any factual reporting that might have been conducted from new organizations center or left of the center. If we are going to get people to come to our side it must be done through factual reporting and clear/concise data, not fabrications and false news stories. We need to be the voice of reason and the adult in the room when the Red Team has adopted to lying through their teeth. If we play this correctly we can win the long game and they (the Modern Trumpulbicans) will have only themselves to blame by looking like liars for propagating fake news so willingly. Thanks for reading.

Regards Michael California