Over the weekend, Iranian state TV released a video showing a new missile launch in the country. President Trump then fired off an angry tweet, implying that the so-called Iran Deal wasn’t working. The only problem? The US intelligence community now says that there’s no evidence Iran conducted a new missile test. And…
Facebook founder and NASCAR enthusiast Mark Zuckerberg likes a lot of things. He likes Facebook. He likes being in charge of Facebook. He even likes talking about how much he likes being in charge of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg does not, however, like it when reporters publish embarrassing but true details about how he…
Ever since the term was popularized by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump—and subsequently appropriated by Democrats—the stupid controversy over “fake news” has become a swirling vortex of pointlessness that refuses to go all the way down the drain. Now everyone’s calling legitimate articles and opinion pieces…
Accurate information can be the difference between life and death during a hurricane. So FEMA has launched a new webpage in an effort to debunk rumors that people might be hearing about Hurricane Irma as the historic storm barrels down on the US mainland.
Social media companies need to start being more transparent about their roles in the U.S. presidential election, Sen. Mark Warner told reporters today. Twitter will need to explain to Congress how its platform was used by Russian trolls attempting to influence the U.S. presidential election, and Facebook ought to make…
In the midst of his semi-regularly scheduled bonkers morning tweet rant, in which he deleted and re-posted tweets multiple times, Donald Trump mixed things up by throwing in an undank meme.
CNN’s resident Donald Trump supporter Kayleigh McEnany, whose pundit gig insisting the president is really playing 4D chess none of us can understand came to an abrupt end on Saturday, now has a new job reading pro-Trump propaganda online.
On July 12th, a member from a popular boating message board posted a photo of some boats he didn’t recognize near Dana Point, a small city on the California coast halfway between LA and San Diego. Someone responded to the post with speculation that it might be the Mexican Navy. And then the internet’s game of…
Losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton badly bruised President Trump’s ego—so much so that he’s cast doubt on the outcome of an election he won by repeatedly suggesting that three million votes cast were illegitimate.
Some scientific journals will publish literally anything for a price. That includes a meme-filled paper by “Lucas McGeorge” and “Annette Kin” referencing “midi-chlorians.” Yes, George Lucas’ attempt to explain feeling the Force with faux biology is now published “scientific research.”
Imagine the worst case scenario. Dubious filmmakers use artificially intelligent computers to feed raw audio into a simulated version of Barack Obama. The audio is actually Obama’s voice, and the face really is his face. But the lip movements? Totally fake. The filmmakers publish the video on the internet, and it’s…
It’s hard work being online these days. What with all of the “fake news” and “viral posts” corrupting the World Wide Web. So how are you supposed to know what’s real and what’s bullcrap, or rather, bull shark crap?
In an apparent attempt to discredit The Washington Post the day after it published a report on fake Donald Trump Time magazine covers hanging up at his golf courses, the president posted one of his most confusing tweets since taking office.
Gaslighting victims around the world blinked on Tuesday when The Washington Post revealed that a fake Time magazine cover with the president’s face is hanging up at Trump golf courses around the world. Donald Trump’s administration would not explain this glaring example of fake news. The facts lead to even weirder…
Security research group Access Now has discovered a clever attack being used against influential social media users as a means of disseminating fake news. The “Doubleswitch” not only involves hijacking verified accounts but makes it extremely difficult for the legitimate owner to regain control of their handle.
The human voice, with all its subtlety and nuance, is proving to be an exceptionally difficult thing for computers to emulate. Using a powerful new algorithm, a Montreal-based AI startup has developed a voice generator that can mimic virtually any person’s voice, and even add an emotional punch when necessary. The…
The New York Times Magazine has an interesting story out today about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, fake news, and Facebook’s role as the world’s most prominent information distributor. It’s all part of Facebook’s ongoing public relations freak out surrounding the prevalence of fake news and hoaxes spread on the…
The perfect fake viral news story has two crucial elements: something outrageous that makes you real mad and something you could basically believe. Not like, “Donald Trump Decrees ‘All Dogs Are Boys,’” but like, “Donald Trump Nominates Steven Seagal as Secretary of Defense.”
Jared Kushner has a lot on his plate right now. As a senior advisor (and son-in-law) to President Trump, Kushner is heading the new White House Office of American Innovation, engaging in diplomatic talks with China, and is even visiting Iraq right now. But that last fact was thrown into question overnight as Reuters…
Propagandists ramming verifiably false information into the eyeballs of credulous internet users—now dubbed “fake news”—is one of the most daunting, complicated issues facing social platforms today. Even the richest, most powerful tech companies with the brightest talent pools have yet to deploy anything resembling a…
