Facebook, Fact-Checking, and Fake News!

Fake News. It’s a phrase that’s been thrown around a lot on social media, especially during this past election. But what does it mean, really? Fake news can be defined as, a type of yellow journalism or propaganda that consists of deliberate misinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional print and broadcast news media or online social media.

Facebook can be a cesspool of fake news articles. I’m sure you’ve seen articles along the lines of, “Hillary Clinton Orders the Execution of Donald Trump’s Daughter,” from a website with a name like “FreedomEagleSoldier.com,” or an article like this one from “News Bible Report,” claiming Sasha Obama had been shot and killed. These articles are clearly ludicrous and the thought that someone could believe it is borderline hilarious.

Unfortunately, these articles can do some real damage. Propaganda and fake news during the 2016 election had such a profound impact that it outperformed real news. Facebook received a considerable amount of backlash because of this to the point where they needed to do something to combat it. Now, if you see an article you believe is fake, you have the option to report it. If enough people report it as fake, it gets sent to a fact-checking organization like Snopes or Politifact. Once determined that it is indeed fake, the article shows up on Facebook with a red banner saying, “Disputed by Third-Party Fact Checkers.”

In some instances, these precautions don’t have the desired effect. Usually fake news stories don’t get branded as fake until after they go viral and the damage has been done. Certain groups see that Facebook flagged a particular story and say, “Hey, they’re trying to censor us! Share this!” This is what happened with Christian Winthrop’s false story that claimed hundreds of thousands of Irish people were brought to the US as slaves. By saying, “Don’t share this, it’s fake news,” it had the opposite effect.

 A number of technologists, academics, and media experts have pitched ideas to Facebook to help them with their fake news problem. Some ideas include verifying news pages, sort of like how Twitter uses a blue checkmark for verified celebrity accounts; sharer reputation ranking which takes into account the types of articles a person shares; and connecting fake news to fact-checking sites, so that when you click a link to a false story, it can also open a page debunking it.

Even with all of these modifications, some think that the more Facebook tries to debunk a story, the more people will still decide to believe it. So, the question remains: How can we get people to agree with facts when the fact in question doesn’t fit how they want to view the world?

Written by Alexia Amato of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

OH MY GOP?! Don’t Ignore Crisis Communications!

Planning ahead of time is a convenient way to manage your time. It’s also never a bad thing to get things done ahead of time. However, it is not good to declare the winner of the Vice-Presidential debate 90 minutes before the event’s salutations.

It comes to question how one could make such proclamations before the event unfolds because as we see with this premature announcement, things do not always go as planned.

The text of the story, posted at the Republican website, reads:

Americans from all across the country tuned in to watch the one and only Vice Presidential debate. During the debate we helped fact check and monitor the conversation in real time @GOP. The consensus was clear after the dust settled, 

Mike Pence was the clear winner of the debate.

Mike Pence’s top moments from the debate:

- Economy

- Highlighting Hillary’s scandals

Mike Pence made the most of his opportunity to debate Hillary’s VP pick Tim Kaine. The other clear winner from tonight’s debate was Donald Trump. His running mate perfectly shared Trump’s vision to make America great again and that message is resonating with Americans all across the country.

An unusual yet “usual” way the GOP addressed the mistake was as if it never happened. The GOP replaced the page with this:

That’s it? Sweep it under the rug?? Where is the crisis communication???

A vital step in crisis communication is to be open and never deny responsibility when it is clearly your fault. Not addressing the crisis is the same as denying it and in the age of social media of course it was caught! Not doing this can damage credibility.

Own your error and “save face” with the public.

Written by Marisha Daniels of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Melania Trump Plagiarizes Michelle Obama’s 2008 Convention Speech

The RNC was filled with exciting, and interesting speeches last night. Most notable was potential first lady, Melania Trump who delivered the night’s headlining speech in what was her first spotlight moment since she married Donald Trump 11 years ago. The crowd praised the speech, but her remarks almost immediately came under scrutiny when parts of it sounded familiar to those of First Lady, Michelle Obama at the Democratic convention in 2008.

Jarrett Hill, a twitter user whose biography describes him as an interior designer and journalist, apparently first noticed the resemblance. However, Mrs. Trump said in an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC before her speech that she just reviewed it once. “I wrote it with as little help as possible,” she stated.

Mr. Trump’s aides declined to identify whom, if anyone, on the campaign helped in writing her speech. Mr. Trump’s main speechwriter is Stephen Miller, and campaign’s chief strategist, Paul Manafort, has managed the convention program and speakers.

In a statement released, a campaign spokesman, Jason Miller, praised Mrs. Trump’s speech, which he stated was written by other people he did not identify with. He did not directly address the similarities to Mrs. Obama’s speech, but he indicated that Mrs. Trump had “included fragments” from other people. “In writing her beautiful speech, Melania’s team of writers took notes on her life’s inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking,” Mr. Miller said. “Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it a success.”

Although this speech has made headlines, and has started a controversy, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has no plans to fire anybody on the campaign or to take any disciplinary action against anyone for plagiarism.

Written by Lexie Gomez from Rebecca Adele PR & Events