fake news, a new name for propaganda?

One of the most interesting cases of fake news during the US Presidential Election 2016 was the infamous ‘Pizzagate’. The conspiracy theory began by false allegations about the Clintons that began to spread in October of 2016. It was claimed that coded emails from Liberal John Podesta, who once had been the Councellor to President Obama, were leaked by WikiLeaks. In the emails, code words were used to refer to human trafficking and underage prostitutes, connecting several Democratic politicians and restaurants to a child sex ring.

It was Twitter and the infamous 4Chan users that spread the rumors on social media, and very soon fake news articles began appearing. Once such video article was published on InfoWars, where Alex Jones ‘spent roughly half an hour pushing pizzagate conspiracy theories and told his audience that they “have to go investigate it for yourself," claiming, "Something’s going on. Something’s being covered up. It needs to be investigated.”’. The video was subsequently deleted and Jones issued an apology, after 28 year old Edgar Welch went to the main restaurant targeted and opened fire. Miraculously, no one was injured. ‘This one example shows how Trump supporters, members of 4chan and Reddit, and right-wing blogs in the US and in other countries combined to create and spread viral misinformation during the election season’.

It begs the question, how often do forums such as 4Chan and Reddit cause fake news? One might remember the Boston Bombings of 2013, when users of the subreddit thread r/findbostonbombers used their ‘investigative skills’ while going through footage of the bombing, to discover the person behind it. The group pinpointed Brown University student Sunil Tripathi as one of the bombers. The man had been missing for days, and his body was eventually found, but he had been dead for a number of days before the attack. The damage had been done, however, and 22 year old Tripathi’s name had been dragged through the mud. Established journalists jumped onto the story, tweeting about Tripathi’s involvement. NBC News reporter Luke Russet tweeted a photo of the young man, with the caption ‘This pic kinda feeds Sunil Tripathi theory’. International hackers Anonymous tweeted Tribathi’s name to their hundreds of thousands of followers, and the Reddit theory became ‘real news’.

Interestingly, Reddit is part owned by Advance Publications, a multibillion-dollar company that owns all of Condé Nast’s magazines as well as newspapers. It owns legendary titles such as Vogue, Allure, Architectural Digest, The Times and the Sports Business Journal. Due to the political economy surrounding the news corporation that is Advance Publications, it can be argued that the spread of this fake news from Reddit could potentially become propaganda material. When Advance Publications took over Wired Magazine, to improve the magazine, it was clear that the control of the magazine would be held by Conde Naste. The powerful elite have ‘been decisive in shaping WIRED's "content." From promoting GBN's consultants endlessly with cover-stories and interviews to actually producing a "special issue" on the future totally with GBN resources, WIRED handed over its editorial reigns to GBN and it's New Dark Age scenarios’.

This is only a small example of one such magazine taken over by Advance Publications. But what about one of the most powerful websites in the world? The site itself consists of user-submitted content, that other users upvote, and push up the page, or downvote, and push down the page. Therefore the more popular the post, the more views it gets. An example of this is the subreddit r/worldnews, when repeatedly deleted the Greenwald/Snowden story on government manipulation and disruption of the Internet. This censorship of such a huge issue from a popular subreddit by the moderators was unquestionably a propaganda mission.

Even on Irish soil, fake news has become an everyday phenomenon, one that we may brush past constantly without having any idea that it is there. It is hard to believe that fellow Irish people, journalists who were raised with the same idea of patriotic pride and the importance of reporting the truth, may in fact have no issue in publishing a lie. To many, the idea of ‘fake news’ may be of a foreign establishment; we often think of Trump’s insistence of the idea throughout the 2016 Presidential election. We might think of Buzzfeed articles or any one of the many fake news sites on the internet that don’t come from our little Island. But this little Island isn’t immune to the allure of multiplying the clicks or an easier paycheck. There have been several blaring examples over recent years of fake journalism, and one of the best is how the Irish Water debate was handled in the media. The liberal theory of the press believes that news media should be free to report on public issues so that crucial features of liberal society can be maintained, for example the protection of rights such as free speech, or the monitoring of abuses of power.

This did not occur in the case of Irish Water. It should first be noted that billionaire Denis O’Brien owns a large share in the Irish media landscape, including online giant Independent.ie. Communicorp was formed by O’Brien in 1989, and now owns over 40 radio stations in eight countries. Based in Dublin, O’Brien has successfully monopolised the Irish radio waves, controlling all but state broadcaster RTE and several small local radio stations. He also owns Siteserv, which installs water meters. When the Irish Water controversy began- with Irish people now having to pay tax on water-, it was Siteserv that was awarded a contract to install the water meters to begin charging Irish residents. ‘The elite have produced a model and a methodology to suit their philosophy. Such a model is Irish Water Ltd and an unmerciful propaganda war is now raging to consolidate the company and philosophy into the Irish system’. O’Brien’s Independent.ie published several articles against ‘violent’ protestors, urging the Irish people that these ‘activists associated with members of the Real IRA’ protesting in ‘trouble spots’ only try to cause trouble.

The story is a ridiculous one, aiming to criminalise those who spoke up and protested against the water tax, yet another expenditure to face for those who struggle enough. One brick was thrown at a vehicle. No one was hurt. The situation was played to paint a very negative picture of the protestors, that could be used to garner sympathy from those on the fence regarding the water charges. ‘If Joan wanted out of the situation she put herself in, Gardai would have obliged as they have done on numerous other occasions to enforce the instillation of water meters. The only thing 'holding' Joan Burton was her own fear of bad press if the Gardai beat a path through peaceful protesters to facilitate her exit’. If anything, Denis O’Brien used the mild protest for his own sake, vilifying those who were against the water charge that would line his own pockets, using the tools at his disposal; his media empire that spreads across Ireland, on every radio, in favourite newspapers and online news sources.

In summation, fake news can very easily influence readers into a different frame of mind. This blatant propaganda from revered news sources, such as O’Brien’s Independent.ie or Newstalk, can be effectively broadcasted through the mainstream media. From a running candidate for the US Presidential Election to those closer to home, fake news is definitely used as propaganda. The elite and powerful who have the funds to keep their media corporations alive, also have their own agendas. The right thing to do for the public might be in the way of these agendas, and how easy would it be to mould a perspective in the news by the very owner of that news? It all comes down to money, and those in editorial control know exactly how to play the game to win. And to do so, they play the propaganda card, ensuring that their power remains unquestioned.

If you're interested in fake news, propaganda, or anything else that affects the world of social media, make sure to subscribe to my Instagram @lapetitemis for updates on when I post!