Apparently, president-elect Donald Trump may have fake news to thank for his election. The 2016 election cycle was packed full of fake news stories that were shared at recorded rates. According to a study done by media outlet Buzz Feed, “fake election news stories generated more total engagement on Facebook than top election stories from 19 major news outlets combined.” This includes well-known news outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, “NBC News,” and others. This is a startling revelation that uncovers a lot about the role of social media and the way consumers interpret news.
During the final three months of the election, Buzz feed reports that fake news and hoax stories generated 8,711,000 shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook. The vast majority of fake news stories were pro-Donald Trump and anti-Hillary Clinton. The top five fake news stories leading up to the election were:
- Pope Francis shocks world, endorses Donald Trump for President, releases statement-960,000 shares
- WikiLeaks Confirms Hillary sold weapons to ISIS…Then drops another bombshell! Breaking News-789,000 shares
- It’s Over: Hillary’s ISIS email just leaked & it’s worse than anyone could have imagined- 754,0000 shares
- Just read the law. Hillary is disqualified from holding any federal office- 701,000 shares
- FBI agent suspected in Hillary email leaks found dead in murder-suicide -567,000 shares
These shares represent big money for the fake website owner in ad revenue. According to Paul Horner, 38, fake news stories generate an estimated $10K a month in ad revenue from Facebook and Google. Horner stated to the Washington Post, “I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me.”
Horner went on to state, “My sites were picked up by Trump supporters all the time. I think Trump is in the White House because of me. His followers don’t fact-check anything — they’ll post everything, believe anything. His campaign manager posted my story about a protester getting paid $3,500 as fact. Like, I made that up. I posted a fake ad on Craigslist.”
Because of Horner and other fake news sites, Facebook and Google have announced that they will now put restrictions on advertising from known fake websites. But this comes too late, as these sites influenced the voting of many individuals. Especially when Donald Trump himself quoted these news stories as fact in front of his supporters.
