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Category: Lies

This is genuine and not faked reporting – Anderson Cooper was intentionally showing the dangers of unseen drop offs in flood waters

This is genuine and not faked reporting – Anderson Cooper was intentionally showing the dangers of unseen drop offs in flood waters

This image does not show what people think it shows. CNN’s Anderson Cooper was moving around in the water to illustrate the dangers of unseen drop offs in flood waters. I’ve seen clips of the original that show this is what he was doing and this was not “fake news”. The original broadcast occurred after Hurricane Ike. This Internet meme illustrates how an instantaneous, moment in time still image loses all context – and can be readily repurposed into a propaganda message.

Update – “Average renter can’t afford their apartment”

Update – “Average renter can’t afford their apartment”

A few months ago, a news item spread saying that the “average renter” or “minimum wage renter” cannot afford a one bedroom apartment. But that is not what the study actually said. The study picked a price point equal to the 40th percentile of rental unit price distributions. In general, those earning a single minimum wage income are usually not able to afford a one bedroom apartment at the 40th percentile. They can afford lower cost units in the market below…

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Climate communications Update: Polar bears, social media, and how our emotional response may have helped a PR stunt

Climate communications Update: Polar bears, social media, and how our emotional response may have helped a PR stunt

Update: National Geographic has retracted the claims made about a widely viewed photo of a starving polar bear. The photos and video were seen by an estimated 2.5 billion people and purported to show the effects of climate change. Nat Geo has retracted the claim and the photographer admits they were seeking a photo to be used for propaganda messaging. Details are in our now updated original post: Polar bears, social media, and how our emotional response may have helped…

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Fake propaganda poster has almost everything wrong

Fake propaganda poster has almost everything wrong

The only part of this propaganda poster that is true is that FactCheck.org did write about Snopes in 2009 but rather than finding it to be a “liberal propaganda site” they said Snopes.com is solid and well documented”. See how easy it is to create a viral propaganda poster for social media sharing? Source: FACT CHECK: Was Snopes.com ‘BUSTED’ for Our CEO’s Ties to George Soros?

Fake photo re- purposed for propaganda message, once again

Fake photo re- purposed for propaganda message, once again

This is getting old – an old photo is re-purposed to pretend it represents something else in a Tweet on Twitter. The photo was taken from Getty Images, of a protest in Tahrir, Egypt in 2011. It appears in multiple locations online. Has nothing to do with Tommy Robinson or Trump or the UK. Note that the tweet has been liked nearly 10,000 times and shared 7,600 times. This is a very common technique used in social media propaganda messages…

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We may be wrong but he is even “wronger”, or something :)

We may be wrong but he is even “wronger”, or something :)

The adversarial relationship developed into a full-scale propaganda war between the Administration and the media. The way to respond to accusations of fictional news reporting is to double down on accuracy, objectivity and remaining calm. Unfortunately, the news industry continues to harm itself through self destructive behavior typical of middle school drama. This behavior is bewildering. [1] Some of the items described in the article were previously confirmed by me, although not necessarily mentioned on this blog. Based on my…

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Yet another fake social media propaganda poster

Yet another fake social media propaganda poster

Some one took quotes that were manufactured for a satirical news web site and turned them into a propaganda poster. The title and quotes are from a satire news site called The Babylon Bee. This was widely shared and commented upon as if this was real, showing the gullibility of idiots who believe what they see on social media. The title is humorous (had us LOL) but this is all fake. And do take note of the last sentence in…

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Part 7: We should all be like Denmark, remember?

Part 7: We should all be like Denmark, remember?

Occupy Democrats is an online, social media-based, for profit publisher of emotion laden political propaganda posters targeting those who view themselves as left wing. In 2016, Occupy Democrats used social media to distribute this propaganda through shares and likes. Every claim on this widely distributed and shared poster is essentially false – or two that are highly misleading at best (see links below for excruciating details.) Note their last item: SHARE if America should follow their lead! Occupy Democrats wants…

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Political misinformation is harder to correct than health misinformation – especially among the educated

Political misinformation is harder to correct than health misinformation – especially among the educated

We have covered this phenomena before. The first information people receive, even if subsequently proven to be incorrect, is what stays in people’s minds. This is one of the reasons that propaganda based on lies is often successful. It is very hard to refute erroneous propaganda statements. New research indicates that corrections have a moderate influence on belief in misinformation. ….“The alarming growth of misinformation and the limited repercussions for non-institutional actors for knowingly or unknowingly misleading the public turned…

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It may be virtue signalling, but at least its not actually true

It may be virtue signalling, but at least its not actually true

This propaganda poster came across my news feed. According to Snopes, He occasionally rides a subway but is more often driving one of his sports cars or classic motorcycles. He generously support several charities; however, his net worth is estimated at $350 million. He lives in a $4 million home (shack, not a mansion, in Hollywood Hills, which is in California, not New York City). Typical of propaganda, this poster extracts “bits” and extrapolates those to make broad or generalized…

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