An American started a fake news website to see how ridiculous a story had to be before Donald Trump supporters realised it was untrue – and ended up concluding that some of them would believe absolutely anything.
Despite aiming to write stories no-one would believe, James McDaniel found Trump supporters who believed that Barack Obama had been plotting a coup from a secret bunker near the White House, and that the British singer Adele had demanded he be jailed for such treachery.
They believed that Obama had tweeted “Trump must be removed as president by any means necessary”, and when one commenter, ‘Truthseeker’, dared suggest the story ‘Obama ran paedophile ring out of White House’ might possibly be fake, he was told: “Really “Truthseeker” if you had ANY clue of the truth, you’d KNOW that Wikileaks hasn’t published ONE thing that has been false. So please use your own mind. Stop listening to MSM [mainstream media] and realize what the TRUTH really is.”
McDaniel started the site believing that visitors would quickly recognize that the over the top stories were clearly bogus.
But that is not what happened.
“When I started this site,” he wrote, “I had no idea that the stories would garner this much attention.
“While writing them, I was aiming for stories that no one would believe, but rather would be satirical in an age where disinformation is so prevalent.
“Just for fun, I decided to post some of the stories in Trump fan groups on Facebook to see the reactions.
“To my surprise, the Trump masses embraced my stories as fact, almost universally. It seemed that there wasn’t anything I could write that was too wild or outrageous to be believed by this particular audience.
“If I wrote about CNN being fake news and connected to ISIS, readers would agree wholeheartedly with my fabricated article. If I wrote about a black liberal or Obama supposedly saying something controversial, the response was unbridled racism and hatred. When I wrote about Hillary Clinton’s new emails that proved she was a child sacrificing maniac, people screamed for her head.”
Well, isn't that chilling?
Essentially this is a form of confirmation bias, however when directed at the folks conditioned to resist all factually based news in favor of devouring one conspiracy theory after another there are no brakes on this runaway train.
I think this really helps to explain HOW people were so easily duped by Donald Trump and his Right Wing news supporters.
And it also explains why your Facebook feed is filled with batshit crazy content from your unhinged Uncle Phil.
Sadly,crazy Uncle Phil is now president of the United States
ReplyDeleteAs I read that, I was wondering how long it'd be before one of Drumpf's aides placed a printout of one of those 'articles ' in front of him as he enjoyed his McDonald's Big Breakfast, then he would inevitably repeat the fake stories on Twitter! It's entirely plausible at this point!
DeleteDoes that fool not realize he could get somebody killed?
ReplyDeleteHave you not realized yet that fat fool doesn't CARE? As Scrooge said, "Let them die and decrease the surplus population!"
DeleteThe only thing he disagrees about with that statement is he doesn't believe in a population surplus!
Trump and his minions might not care but a huge majority of Americans would be distraught if anyone in the Obama family came to grief over this. Frankly, it's not funny. Too many low intellect people have guns in this country for something like this to be cute - ever. Should the unthinkable happen and there is even the remotest connection to this guy's website, then he should be charged for inciting the crime.
DeleteBeaglemom
Visit c4p on any given day.
ReplyDeleteThey truly believe this stuff.
++++++
DeleteWow! Fake news being lapped up by foolish right-wingers...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-fake-news-russia_us_58c34d97e4b0ed71826cdb36?63g&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
People like this guy who think they are proving a point or doing a social experiment are actually adding fuel to an inferno. Few of the gullible believers will ever accept that they were had and someday, someone will be harmed by a nut who is enraged by one of these stories.
ReplyDeleteExactly! He might think it's a creative or clever exercise, but there are far too many people, including the lunatic in the White House, who will take it as fact and continue to spread it as the truth.
DeleteWhen you've got a president who gets his 'intelligence' from Infowars, you shouldn't give the crazy right wingers any more fake ammunition.
Murder by fiction as a social experiment.
DeleteThe laws on the books are going to stretched on this.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/after-pledging-donate-salary-trump-declines-release-proof-n732466
ReplyDeleteWould be worth doing as an experiment to assess gullibility of multiple populations. Post same stories on a few other types of feeds -- dems, Bernie lovers, libertarians, more moderate republicans, feeds with no political tone. Then, assess gullibility. May already be being done by social scientists if they can get past ethical issues.
ReplyDeleteLila
Sorry, but I'm not surprised at all.
ReplyDeleteI call them stupid, even though that is no longer politically correct. There just isn't any other word to describe the extent of their gullibility, ignorance and entrenched hatred.
Stupid is not offensive, just descriptive. 'Imbecilic' also captures the essence of these folks.
DeleteBRILLIANT: The 'No TRUMP Act' Was Just Introduced in Congress in Response to Presidential Corruption
ReplyDeleteMuch has been written about the flagrant conflicts of interest inherent in Donald Trump's presidency. He is a walking violation of the Constitution's Emoluments Clause. The purpose of that clause is to prohibit the president from receiving cash or gifts from foreign persons or governments. Nevertheless, Trump stubbornly refuses to divest himself from his far flung business empire. Already there is evidence of foreign interests deliberately booking his hotels and resorts in order to curry favor with him. Even worse, some reports indicate that the Trump Organization is applying political pressure to do so.
In addition to the windfall from big-spending foreigners, Trump is also profiting from domestic business transactions since becoming president. ThinkProgress reports that it costs taxpayers $3 million dollars each time Trump visits his luxury Miami resort, Mar-A-Lago. And that's not all:
"In order to have constant access to the commander-in-chief, the military is forced to rent space in Trump Tower at a taxpayer cost estimated to be $1.5 million annually, with the money lining the Trump family’s pockets. Relocating the executive branch to Mar-a-Lago each weekend raises the profile of the club and encourages people to pay for the access a $200,000 membership provides."
Additional security expenses are incurred by the First Lady, Melania, spending virtually all of her time at Trump Tower. The Secret Service has taken up residence in the floor below Trump's penthouse, for which the American people are paying. These and other expenses, including those incurred by the Trump kids, put money directly into the family's bank account.
Seeking to address this lucrative scam, an Oregon congressman has come up with a brilliant solution. It's a creative piece of legislation that would put an end to the Trump clan's profiteering. USA Today provides the details:
"The 'No Taxpayer Revenue Used to Monetize the Presidency' Act, otherwise known as the 'No TRUMP' Act. The bill, introduced Thursday by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., would prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for events, overnight stays, food or other expenses at hotels owned or operated by a president or his relatives."
Blumenauer's acronym is work of comic genius. However, the bill itself makes sense and would apply to any president. There are good reasons to deny presidents the ability to use the office for personal gain. By introducing a profit motive it becomes impossible to tell whether the president is acting in the best interests of the nation or himself. And that's especially true with a notorious con artist like Trump.
Republicans spent a good deal of time complaining about how often President Obama played golf or took vacations. Never mind that it was less than most of his predecessors. And Trump has already spent almost as much in a month as Obama did in a year. Trump himself whined about the cost of Obama's use of Air Force One:
x
I say we cannot continue to let Obama fly around on Air Force 1, at a cost of millions of dollars a day, for the purpose of politics & play!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2014
—
The absurdity of that is apparent. The President must travel in a secure environment and prepared to deal with any potential crisis. But the No TRUMP Act doesn't stop The Donald from traveling or fulfilling his duties. He can simply choose to stay at a hotel that he doesn't own. And any money that he receives from government use of his properties should be transferred to the U.S. Treasury. He has said he will do that for money received from foreigners, but there has been no proof yet that he is doing so. The No TRUMP Act would make a legal requirement.
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/10/1642346/-BRILLIANT-The-No-TRUMP-Act-Was-Just-Introduced-in-Congress-in-Response-to-Presidential-Corruption
Surely you jest! Nice idea. Waste of money.
DeleteThere is NO WAY IN HELL that Humpty Trumpty would actually sign such a piece of legislation. And when he refuses to sign it, there is literally NO chance of it being overridden by Congress.
hey Gryph, remember when Sarah used to dress up and do her hair (and one time dyed her face) to resemble other people in the news?
ReplyDeleteTrump must have the same personality disorder as Sarah Palin. He always wears a suit and tie- even his little kid wears a suit and tie every day.
https://twitter.com/RealAdamRose/status/840704299386585088
This is what happens when drumpf son's don't wear suits. ""Don Jr. opened the door, wearing a Yankee jersey. Without saying a word, his father slapped him across the face, knocking him to the floor in front of all of his classmates," Melker writes on Facebook. "He simply said 'put on a Suit and meet me outside,' and closed the door."
Deletehttp://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-dj-says-he-watched-donald-trump-brutally-slap-his-son-in-college-8900500
Why isn't the fat, white blob being impeached? I just don't get it! He is doing everything the exact opposite of what he should according to the United States Constitution. Plus, it's been proven he is in the pocket of Putin and Russia!
ReplyDeleteHe and his family members are going to drain the taxpayers dry and could give a shit less.
I detest them and their actions. They are anti-American and America!
We are going to see a war within our ranks and it will be created by Trump. That is what I suspect he wants! It will give him reason to bring out the cops, FBI and National Guard members throughout the country to get rid of as many of us as he can. (the poor and middle class)
I truly see major upheaval within our country on the horizon!
Two quotes from an article on McDaniel's fake news site:
ReplyDelete“What I´m trying to tell you is, and people don´t know this, but Barack is a peter puffer, you know what I´m sayin´? He’s a gay man.”
“He tried to touch me once. Yes sir, grabbed me between the legs one time. I pushed his hand away and said ‘Why you do that?’
These were attributed to a former aide, Reggie Love, in a story claiming that Obama is a homosexual. Simply amazing how eagerly Trump supporters swallowed this excrement and begged for more.
Then why are you repeating them?
DeleteBeaglemom
Those quotes are a hoot, Beaglemom, jeez. The chances are slim that any of us would believe those quotes.
DeleteAnon at 7:56 am, "slim" chances remain possibilities and creating "fake news," that some people might well believe, is feeding into Trump's claims against legitimate news outlets. It's just not smart to encourage stupid behavior by setting out "fake news" bait; there are too many idiots in this country just aching to act on it.
DeleteBeaglemom
Well, that might seem like a big joke to some people, but the website could put President Obama and his family in jeopardy. Remember the crazy guy who went to the Washington pizza place with his gun because he believed the internet lies that the DNC and Hillary Clinton were involved in evil deeds there. it is not funny to mess with low intellect Americans who have such easy access to guns and ammunition.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
My exact thoughts Beaglemom. If they are loony enough to believe such craziness, some are off enough to do something terrible.
DeleteWe don't need any "experiments" at someone's expense to tell us that there are idiots out there. We just need to do something about it.
And with all the fake stories (pizza gate etc) who didn't know that stupid is out there, alive and well?
I meet people every day that are so stupid that I can't understand how they even are able to make my mocha or check out my groceries.
ReplyDeleteI realize that these people don't make much money but I seriously, aren't there more intelligent people out there to take these jobs?
I haven't done Facebook since 2009 and it has changed I'm sure since I was on it and wow, it just seems like a morass or moronic thought and oversharing.
ReplyDeleteWoe to you that have to put up with it. I really is freeing to just say no.
I have not been doing Facebook since after Xmas as it is covered with fake news courtesy of Russia.
DeleteYou were prudent far before the rest of us.
I left Facebook when President Obama was in office for less than a year. I got sick of the trashy people and others in that same category who were denigrating him with EVERYTHING they could think of. I reached my limit when they started posting pictures of him made up to look like Hitler.
DeleteI blasted every one of the bastards for that kind of shit.
Also, I quit because almost immediately upon signing up I began to get all sorts of trash spam emails. Literally hundreds would show up. (They still do. And I do NOT "unsubscribe" because I don't want to confirm they have an "active" email address that they can sell to someone else.)
And the final straw? They changed the email address I had posted to one THEY WANTED ME TO HAVE! (My page was supposedly open only to my "friends".)
I told them exactly what they could do with themselves and canceled.
Screw Facebook!
This really pisses me off at the irresponsibility of it. No different than yelling FIRE in a theater because you're wondering if people will run.
ReplyDeleteNot to beat a dead horse, but...
ReplyDeleteWhen you start your day believing in nonsense (i.e. talking snake, talking donkey, walking on water, virgin birth, unicorns, etc.) then it's not that huge of a leap to believe bullshit like "carbon dioxide doesn't cause global-warming", "evolution is a much a FAITH as religion", "angels are real", "homosexuality causes hurricanes", conservatives are compassionate, on and on.
Fools.