NightSide - Is Fake News A Real Concern?

BOSTON (CBS) - Throughout the 2016 campaign, concern was raised over the amount of fake news stories being passed around on websites, blogs, and social media. Some have questioned whether the sheer volume of false attack stories published about Hillary Clinton was actually enough to swing the election for Donald Trump. Facebook staff members have talked about trying to create methods to block fake news while trying to avoid the slippery slope of censorship. Last week, a false news story about a child prostitution ring being run out of a Washington, D.C. pizzeria led a man to drive more than three hundred miles to the pizzeria in question armed with an AR-15. The man fired the weapon inside the restaurant, but eventually surrendered to authorities when he couldn't find any evidence of children being held. Even this incident itself has spawned fake news stories, with some extreme right wing blogs declaring the gunman was an actor paid to discredit "alternative" news sources. Should we be concerned over the prevalence and reach of false news stories? Or is this just a natural side effect of being more connected through the internet and social media?

Originally broadcast December 8th, 2016.

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