LeGenD
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EXAMPLE 1:-
Explosive allegations about Donald Trump made by online writers with large followings among Trump critics were based on bogus information from a hoaxer who falsely claimed to work in law enforcement.
Claude Taylor tweeted fake details of criminal inquiries into Trump that were invented by a source whose claim to work for the New York attorney general was not checked, according to emails seen by the Guardian. The allegations were endorsed as authentic and retweeted by his co-writer Louise Mensch.
The source’s false tips included an allegation, which has been aggressively circulated by Mensch and Taylor, that Trump’s inactive fashion model agency is under investigation by New York authorities for possible sex trafficking.
The hoaxer, who fed the information to Taylor by email, said she acted out of frustration over the “dissemination of fake news” by Taylor and Mensch. Their false stories about Trump have included a claim that he was already being replaced as president by Senator Orrin Hatch in a process kept secret from the American public.
“Taylor asked no questions to verify my identity, did no vetting whatsoever, sought no confirmation from a second source – but instead asked leading questions to support his various theories, asking me to verify them,” the source said in an email.
After being approached for comment by the Guardian on Monday, Taylor posted what he described as a “mea culpa” on Twitter. “As a ‘citizen journalist’ I acknowledge my error and do apologize,” he wrote.
Mensch denied using the bogus information and said her allegations about Trump’s model agency came from her own sources. Asked why she had retweeted Taylor’s false posts, Mensch said: “I don’t think anybody can vet anybody else’s sources.”
Full disclosure here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/28/trump-tweets-hoax-louise-mensch-claude-taylor
EXAMPLE 2:-
Louise Mensch is among a number of bloggers offering a mix of true and inaccurate stories, forcing readers to discern truth for themselves
The need for vigilance in distinguishing real journalism from “fake news” has become well established since Donald Trump was elected with help from bogus online stories.
But readers are now being confronted with an even tougher challenge: decoding the work of writers whose track records of faulty reporting are occasionally interrupted by stories that are actually true.
The trait has appeared among pro- and anti-Trump writers alike, as bloggers on each side of a chaotic political crisis mix information from knowledgeable insiders with wild allegations about their opponents.
Media experts said readers should remain on guard.
“Even a blind pig finds a truffle once in a while,” said Kathleen Culver, director of the University of Madison-Wisconsin’s Center for Journalism Ethics. Culver noted that the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer published authentic bombshells on the infidelity of former senator John Edwards in 2008 before resuming its less credible output.
The anti-Trump blogger Louise Mensch, who scooped mainstream reportersearlier this year, excited her followers over the weekend with a nonsensical 92-word post claiming that a sealed indictment – intended by the justice department to “form the basis of Mr Trump’s impeachment” – had already been “granted” against the president over his links to Russia.
Skeptics noted that criminal indictments are not “granted”; that impeachment is initiated by Congress, not an executive agency; and that Mensch appeared to have misunderstood the supremacy clause of the US constitution, which she incorrectly said meant Trump must be impeached before he could be prosecuted.
“This new reality, in which purveyors of fake news occasionally report verified information, reminds us, once again, of how difficult it is to be news literate in our information ecosystem,” said Jonathan Anzalone, a lecturer in journalism at New York’s Stony Brook University.
Full disclosure here: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/16/fake-news-sites-reports-facts-louise-mensch
- Mensch and Claude Taylor tweeted details of criminal inquires that didn’t exist
- Hoaxer who fed information said she acted out of frustration over fake news
- Taylor issues mea culpa on Twitter after being approached by Guardian
Explosive allegations about Donald Trump made by online writers with large followings among Trump critics were based on bogus information from a hoaxer who falsely claimed to work in law enforcement.
Claude Taylor tweeted fake details of criminal inquiries into Trump that were invented by a source whose claim to work for the New York attorney general was not checked, according to emails seen by the Guardian. The allegations were endorsed as authentic and retweeted by his co-writer Louise Mensch.
The source’s false tips included an allegation, which has been aggressively circulated by Mensch and Taylor, that Trump’s inactive fashion model agency is under investigation by New York authorities for possible sex trafficking.
The hoaxer, who fed the information to Taylor by email, said she acted out of frustration over the “dissemination of fake news” by Taylor and Mensch. Their false stories about Trump have included a claim that he was already being replaced as president by Senator Orrin Hatch in a process kept secret from the American public.
“Taylor asked no questions to verify my identity, did no vetting whatsoever, sought no confirmation from a second source – but instead asked leading questions to support his various theories, asking me to verify them,” the source said in an email.
After being approached for comment by the Guardian on Monday, Taylor posted what he described as a “mea culpa” on Twitter. “As a ‘citizen journalist’ I acknowledge my error and do apologize,” he wrote.
Mensch denied using the bogus information and said her allegations about Trump’s model agency came from her own sources. Asked why she had retweeted Taylor’s false posts, Mensch said: “I don’t think anybody can vet anybody else’s sources.”
Full disclosure here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/28/trump-tweets-hoax-louise-mensch-claude-taylor
EXAMPLE 2:-
Louise Mensch is among a number of bloggers offering a mix of true and inaccurate stories, forcing readers to discern truth for themselves
The need for vigilance in distinguishing real journalism from “fake news” has become well established since Donald Trump was elected with help from bogus online stories.
But readers are now being confronted with an even tougher challenge: decoding the work of writers whose track records of faulty reporting are occasionally interrupted by stories that are actually true.
The trait has appeared among pro- and anti-Trump writers alike, as bloggers on each side of a chaotic political crisis mix information from knowledgeable insiders with wild allegations about their opponents.
Media experts said readers should remain on guard.
“Even a blind pig finds a truffle once in a while,” said Kathleen Culver, director of the University of Madison-Wisconsin’s Center for Journalism Ethics. Culver noted that the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer published authentic bombshells on the infidelity of former senator John Edwards in 2008 before resuming its less credible output.
The anti-Trump blogger Louise Mensch, who scooped mainstream reportersearlier this year, excited her followers over the weekend with a nonsensical 92-word post claiming that a sealed indictment – intended by the justice department to “form the basis of Mr Trump’s impeachment” – had already been “granted” against the president over his links to Russia.
Skeptics noted that criminal indictments are not “granted”; that impeachment is initiated by Congress, not an executive agency; and that Mensch appeared to have misunderstood the supremacy clause of the US constitution, which she incorrectly said meant Trump must be impeached before he could be prosecuted.
“This new reality, in which purveyors of fake news occasionally report verified information, reminds us, once again, of how difficult it is to be news literate in our information ecosystem,” said Jonathan Anzalone, a lecturer in journalism at New York’s Stony Brook University.
Full disclosure here: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/16/fake-news-sites-reports-facts-louise-mensch
