Fake right-wing websites are appropriating 'credibility'
When the Arizona Monitor endorsed Republican Senate candidate Kelli Ward last fall, her campaign quickly touted the news on Facebook. Only, there was one problem: The Arizona Monitor isn't a real publication. It is an "anonymous, pro-Ward blog" that "launched just a few weeks before publishing the endorsement, and its domain registration is hidden, masking the identity of its owner," Politico reports.
In other words, the Arizona Monitor is the very definition of fake news.
You can't be blamed for having assumed differently: In a media landscape populated by websites with names like InfoWars, Liberty Writers News, and UndergroundNewsReport.com, it is usually fairly easy to discern publications that might push an agenda with false stories. That sniff test is no longer reliable, though, Politico reports:
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The director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, described the method as "basically … an appropriation of credibility." Read more about how fake news websites are designed to trick you, and who might be behind them, at Politico.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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