28. Leaking About Donald Trump in the Age of Fake News

2018 ◽  
pp. 363-372
Keyword(s):  
Fake News ◽  
Donald Trump

scholarly journals Discursive Deflection: Accusation of “Fake News” and the Spread of Mis- and Disinformation in the Tweets of President Trump

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630511877601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Ross ◽  
Damian J. Rivers
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Hillary Clinton ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Objective Truth ◽  
Reliable Source ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports

Twitter is increasingly being used within the sociopolitical domain as a channel through which to circulate information and opinions. Throughout the 2016 US Presidential primaries and general election campaign, a notable feature was the prolific Twitter use of Republican candidate and then nominee, Donald Trump. This use has continued since his election victory and inauguration as President. Trump’s use of Twitter has drawn criticism due to his rhetoric in relation to various issues, including Hillary Clinton, the size of the crowd in attendance at his inauguration, the policies of the former Obama administration, and immigration and foreign policy. One of the most notable features of Trump’s Twitter use has been his repeated ridicule of the mainstream media through pejorative labels such as “fake news” and “fake media.” These labels have been deployed in an attempt to deter the public from trusting media reports, many of which are critical of Trump’s presidency, and to position himself as the only reliable source of truth. However, given the contestable nature of objective truth, it can be argued that Trump himself is a serial offender in the propagation of mis- and disinformation in the same vein that he accuses the media. This article adopts a corpus analysis of Trump’s Twitter discourse to highlight his accusations of fake news and how he operates as a serial spreader of mis- and disinformation. Our data show that Trump uses these accusations to demonstrate allegiance and as a cover for his own spreading of mis- and disinformation that is framed as truth.

scholarly journals Fake News and the Convention on Cybercrime

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-358
Author(s):  
Robert Smith ◽  
Mark Perry
Keyword(s):  
Hate Speech ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Clear Definition ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Web

The COVID-19 pandemic and the recent term of the United States President, Donald Trump, brought the term “fake news” to the attention of the broader community. Some jurisdictions have developed anti-fake news legislation, whilst others have used existing cybercrime legislation. A significant deficiency is the lack of a clear definition of fake news. Just because a person calls something “fake news” does not mean that it is indeed false. Especially during pandemics, the primary aim should be to have misinformation and disinformation removed quickly from the web rather than prosecute offenders. The most widely accepted international anti-cybercrime treaty is the Convention on Cybercrime developed by the Council of Europe, which is silent on fake news, the propagation of which may be a cybercrime. There is an Additional Protocol that deals with hate speech, which the authors consider to be a subset of fake news. Using examples from Southeast Asia, the paper develops a comprehensive definition of what constitutes fake news. It ensures that it covers the various flavours of fake news that have been adopted in various jurisdictions. Hate speech can be considered a subset of fake news and is defined as the publication or distribution of fake news with the intention to incite hatred or violence against ethnic, religious, political, and other groups in society. The paper proposes some offences, including those that should be applied to platform service providers. The recommendations could be easily adapted for inclusion in the Convention on Cybercrime or other regional conventions. Such an approach is desirable as cybercrime, including propagating fake news, is not a respecter of national borders, and has widespread deleterious effects. Keywords: Fake news; hate speech; Convention on Cybercrime; draft legislation

Maxim Pozdorovkin on Our New President

2019 ◽  
pp. 441-450
Author(s):  
Scott MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Significant Contribution ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Hillary Clinton ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Online Networks ◽  
Feminist Performance ◽  
Radical Feminist ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government

Russian-American filmmaker Maxim Pozdorovkin has made a series of films documenting Russia in the age of Putin, including the well-known Pussy Riot (2013), about the radical feminist performance group. This interview focuses specifically on Our New President (2017), which traces the Hillary Clinton/Donald Trump presidential race and the Trump election as depicted in Russian propaganda. Pozdorovkin’s film is a significant contribution to the recent history of recycled cinema. The political weaponizing of media to produce “fake news” is the focus of Our New President. Pozdorovkin demonstrates that in the 2010s propaganda is not so much misinformation carefully embedded in an otherwise informative context, but an attempt to overwhelm by creating total media confusion. He makes clear that in Russia the government controls all major news outlets and hacking into the online networks of other nations is considered patriotism.

scholarly journals Simulacra in the Age of Social Media: Baudrillard as the Prophet of Fake News

2020 ◽  
pp. 019685992097715
Author(s):  
James Morris
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
General Trend ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Online Technology ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Mass Reproduction

“Fake News” has been a frequent topic in the last couple of years. The phenomenon has particularly been cited with regards to the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States. The creation of “post truth” reports that are disseminated via the Web and social media has been treated as something new, a product of the digital age, and a reason to be concerned about the effects of online technology. However, this paper argues that fake news should be considered as part of a continuum with forms of media that went before in the 20th Century, and the general trend of postmodernity detailed by Baudrillard. The simulation of communications media and mass reproduction was already evident and has merely progressed in the digital age rather than the latter providing a wholly new context. The paper concludes by asking whether the political havoc caused by fake news has an antidote, when it appears to be a by-product of media simulacra’s inherent lack of connection to the real. In a communications landscape where the misrepresentations of the so-called “Mainstream Media” are decried using even more questionable “memes” on social media, is there any possibility for truth?

Media control will protect scandal-ridden Netanyahu

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Court ◽  
Media Control ◽  
Free Distribution ◽  
Government Financing

Significance An opposition leader in January petitioned the High Court to remove that portfolio over alleged conflicts of interest. This followed the emergence of a recording of Netanyahu apparently discussing an abortive deal with the publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth for more favourable coverage, in return for curtailing the free distribution of Israel Hayom, its pro-Netanyahu rival. Since late 2016, Netanyahu has been engaged in a feud with some sections of the Israeli media. In late January, he complained of a “Bolshevik hunt, brainwashing and character assassination” against himself and his family. Impacts Publicly owned media is set to weaken further, given its dependence on government financing and regulation. Left-wing parties will struggle for media coverage, reducing their popular support base. Netanyahu will use the global ‘fake news’ narrative pushed by Donald Trump to counter-attack against criticism.

scholarly journals Democracia y medios de comunicación en Estados Unidos

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Keyword(s):  
Fake News ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
Medios De Comunicacion

El sistema democrático de los Estados Unidos ha sufrido, desde hace ya varios años, una severa transformación en la cual los medios de comunicación desempeñan un papel primordial. La nueva realidad tecnológica ha quitado la centralidad en la articulación de la deliberación pública a los medios tradicionales: la televisión, la radio y la prensa. Hoy conviven con plataformas como Facebook, Twitter o Instagram que son accesibles a todos y que pueden formar redes independientes y hacer circular información, en múltiples sentidos, provocando una atomización de la conversación pública. En ese contexto, las posibilidades de los medios tradicionales de conducir el debate político se reducen, como se comprobó en las campañas del 2016 y lo vemos ahora de cara al proceso electoral del 2020. Con el triunfo de Donald Trump el término “fake news” adquirió una connotación de arma arrojadiza en contra de sus críticos y hoy es una de las principales amenazas a la integridad de la deliberación democrática. Por esta razón, es legítimo preguntarse si la apuesta de Trump por hostigar a los medios tradicionales es una amenaza para la integridad del sistema democrático o puede la democracia sobrevivir con una conversación polarizada y confrontacional, plagada de mentiras y manipulación de datos personales.

scholarly journals Jesus, Nietzsche und Trump. Wahrheit, Irrtum und Lüge in Religion, Philosophie und Politik

conexus ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 145-174
Author(s):  
Matthias Neugebauer
Keyword(s):  
Sich Eine ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Alternative Facts

Erkenntnisse im Sinne von wahren Erkenntnissen und Irrtümer im Sinne von nachweislich irrtümlichen oder irreführenden Behauptungen gibt und gab es in der Theologie, in der Philosophie und in der Politik. Für die genannten drei Bereiche stehen die Namen Jesu, Nietzsches und Trumps. Donald Trump und die mit seinem Namen verknüpften «alternative facts» beziehungsweise «fake news» stehen für einen Politikstil, bei dem die Grenzen zwischen Wahrheit, Irrtum und Lüge fatal verschwimmen. Dabei erinnert an Trumps Gebaren manches an den von Nietzsche divinierten Übermenschen. Natürlich: Trump ist nicht der «Übermensch». Aber Nietzsche argumentierte leidenschaftlich dafür, das Konzept Wahrheit als Ganzes zu verabschieden. Massgeblich ist nur, was der Übermensch sagt. Nietzsches entschiedene Reserve gegenüber dem Wahrheitsparadigma erreicht einen Höhepunkt in dem berühmten Satz: «Wahrheit ist die Art von Irrtum, ohne welche eine bestimmte Art von lebendigen Wesen nicht leben könnte». Nietzsches Kritik am Wahrheitsparadigma zielte vor allem auch auf das christliche Wahrheitsverständnis. Ein an dieser Stelle einschlägiger Spitzensatz Jesu lautet:  «Ich bin […] die Wahrheit» (Joh 14, 6) - ein Satz, der leider auch zum Ausgangspunkt zum Teil verheerender Irrtümer geworden ist. Jesus, Nietzsche und Trump stehen für ganz unterschiedliche Sortierungen von Wahrheitserkenntnis und Irrtum. Hier tut sich eine reizvolle Konstellation auf, die in einen systematischen Zusammenhang gebracht wird und auf die Frage zielt: Was bedeutet das für unsere Rede von Wahrheitserkenntnis und Irrtum?

scholarly journals Social media usage by President Donald Trump before and after the 2016 elections

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Glueckstern ◽  
Alexi Benyacar ◽  
Sacha Grigri
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Media Use ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Media

According to Gill (2017), the present era of electronic revolution is one in which social media has become a means to an end in political sphere communication. Today, political marketing and advertising for persons seeking elective posts analyze, develop, execute and manage campaigns as a way of driving public opinion (Laing & Khattab, 2016). Social media provides a platform on which one can engage with the so-called connected generation. If the November 2016 elections are anything to go by, Twitter proved to be the medium of choice for citizens to engage and consume political content (Le et al., 2017). Ideally, tweets formed the basis of facilitating user engagement through the provision of content and newsbreaks. By extension, the mentioned discussions would influence the political discourse while establishing the capacity to determine the events of mainstream media. This study seeks to establish social media usage by President Donald Trump before and after his election. An understanding of such trend is essential in inferring as to whether Social media, in this case Twitter, plays a role in the current political spheres by promoting influence of a given aspirant. This stems from various studies that have stated that there is an association between social media use and an aspirant’s influence of the connected generation who are especially the youths. For instance, a thesis by Hwang (2016) observed that President Trump’s Twitter usage contributes to his political poll success which he associates with a reflection of his personality in the media use. This was also observed by Lilleker, Jackson, Thorsen and Veneti (2016) who stated that President Trump’s media use contributed to his election. It would hence be essential to understand President Trump’s nature of usage of Twitter. Allcott and Gentzkow (2017) conducted a study in which they observed use of fake news to influence people into certain political alignments. Twitter was also observed as one of the channels through which fake news was distributed. This study might help to create a foundation under which more studies can be done to determine the association of social media with other issues facing the society such as fake news and environment issues and their role on presidential elections. It would also be worth noting that there has been high politicization of President Trump’s use of Twitter especially during his Campaigns. This study would hence help to infer whether there is a change in this factor after his election.

scholarly journals Posverdad, fake-news y agenda política en el discurso de Trump en Twitter

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 471-483
Author(s):  
Francisco Cabezuelo Lorenzo ◽  
Juan Luis Manfredi
Keyword(s):  
Fake News ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Medios De Comunicacion

Este trabajo muestra los resultados del análisis de contenido de los 133 mensajes de Donald Trump en su perfil de Twitter (@realDonaldTrump) durante su primer mes como presidente electo de los Estados Unidos tras los comicios noviembre de 2016. Su análisis demuestra que Trump ha empleado Twitter de manera impulsiva y nada institucional para incrementar la afiliación partidista y manejar la opinión pública. Por un lado, mediante la exposición de ideas no convencionales sobre las relaciones internacionales de Estados Unidos. Y, por otro, porque el reflejo de los medios de comunicación internacionales refuerza el perfil heterodoxo del nuevo presidente. Ese posicionamiento refuerza la identidad del votante republicano medio con Trump en pleno debate sobre la posverdad y la desinformación en los nuevos contextos digitales.

From Tracking to Trolling to Tribalism

Hard White ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 121-140
Author(s):  
Richard C. Fording ◽  
Sanford F. Schram
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Fox News ◽  
The Mass Media

Chapter 6 focuses on the role of a changing media landscape in disseminating misinformation to a disproportionately underinformed audience to support Donald Trump. It shows how the Trump campaign and its allies, including the contract firm Cambridge Analytica as well as Russian operatives, exploited the changing media landscape to spread misinformation to sow racial division and stoke white outgroup hostility. The chapter examines the nexus between Fox News, fake news, and Trump to provide evidence of the specific connection that demonstrates the key role of the mass media, social media included, in disseminating misinformation about outgroups and sustaining high levels of outgroup hostility among whites.

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