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A comment on Terry Pratchett warns Bill Gates about fake news (1995). Parent comment

Re:Terry Pratchett warns Bill Gates about fake news (1995) by dfxm12 on Thursday May 30, 2019 @10:32AM (#20051498)
Fake news has always been with us and the internet just propagates it along with everything else.

I wonder what's easier: Curbing the dissemination of fake news on the web or understanding the allure of & preventing people from wanting to believe fake news in the first place.

I honestly think it is the former, so I think there is value in combating it from that angle (in addition to others).

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Re:Terry Pratchett warns Bill Gates about fake news (1995) by neuronic on Thursday May 30, 2019 @10:58AM (#20051864)
The problem with the second approach is that it plays heavily into psychology, confirmation bias and such. What if people don't want to consume fake news but are instead incapable of recognizing or admitting that it is fake? Even in the face of facts and reality?

There are psychological pathologies which display similar behavior - narcissism being one of those where reality is conveniently rejected in favor of what works for you.

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