4 Shocking Examples of Fake News Throughout History

The election of Trump was nothing compared to the past

In 2016 ,Craig Silverman explored a curious anomaly on Facebook. He found that a stream of bogus stories reporting on the U.S. election originated in Veles, Macedonia. Upon digging, he discovered that 140 fake news sites are located in this small town of 55,000.

The Veles sites bombarded Facebook with thousands of alluring stories. They had titles such as: “Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump” and “FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead”.

The fake tales were created by a small group of young Veles residents. And despite many of the articles supporting Trump, the creators likely had no interest in U.S. politics.

Instead, they created stories that generated traffic — and hence advertising revenue — to their sites. The tactic worked a treat; and the fakers became overnight millionaires while their fellow Veles residents earned an average of €352 a month.

But their stories had real implications on the U.S. election, during which they were picked up and discussed by large media companies frantic for the next scoop. Wild theories swirled, and the truth became shrouded in confusion. Open, honest, truthful debate eluded voters; the public struggled to deduce facts.

One study of 25,000 social media messages by Michigan voters showed that half were fake. Although…