Re: Microsoft, one of the early tests of a Russian fake news source was to fake that Windows 10 sends highly personal information like webcam video, keystrokes and mic audio to the mothership.

It got a bunch of traction on here and took off big time on Reddit, and people would quote it as proof in comments for months.

E.g with 300+ votes https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10053420

If you tell people outrageous stuff they want to hear, they will believe it, even applies to tech savvy folks.