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Re:Inside a Fake News Factory: ‘This Is All About Income’ by rodgerd on Friday November 25, 2016 @07:42PM (#13041007)
> It leads to giving unprecedented to private corporations in controlling what people are able to see and hear.

You don't know much about Rupert Murdoch or Hearst, do you?

Re:Inside a Fake News Factory: ‘This Is All About Income’ by wallace_f on Friday November 25, 2016 @07:50PM (#13041042)
Thanks for that. I am aware of who they are.

Ok so AFAIK what you are trying to say is that corporations, as well as media moguls, already have power in controlling what people say and hear. It's true that is already a problem. So why don't we try to stop it from getting worse?

The fact is the trend is towards people digesting news through filters such as Twitter, Facebook and Google. I don't want to see private corporations have unprecedented control in censoring the perceived choice of consumers in what they see and hear.

The war on fake news is lending to a theme towards censorship. I think most people are aware most news is already produced by a few major media corporations. I don't want to live in a world where everything else is considered "fake."

Re:Inside a Fake News Factory: ‘This Is All About Income’ by unclenoriega on Friday November 25, 2016 @08:07PM (#13041108)
I get the abstract argument against censorship, but I think the 'fake news' in these discussions is fairly clearly defined as news that's made up from nothing (and isn't opinion). There is some element of "I know it when I see it," but I think it's possible to be fairly objective. I'm sure Facebook et cetera won't want to be accused of censoring something that turns out to be a real news story.

Moreover, my understanding is that Google and Facebook already censor what consumers see based on what their data suggests they will like (or what will generate greater ad views/clicks/whatever).

It seems to me that the real problem isn't that aggregators may "censor" news, it's the suggestion that there's nothing to be done about it. Surely consumers can just read the NY Times or whatever sources they trust instead of relying solely on social media. The problem might be apathy or lack of free time or lack of critical thinking, but I don't think it's Facebook and Google trying to stop fake news from spreading on their networks.

Re:Inside a Fake News Factory: ‘This Is All About Income’ by colordrops on Friday November 25, 2016 @07:50PM (#13041041)
What did the grandparent post say that indicates ignorance of Murdoch or Hearst? If anything I'd suspect the opposite.