General Discussion

CousinIT

(9,267 posts) Thu Nov 17, 2016, 11:39 AM Nov 2016

Fake-news writer says he makes over 10,000 per month, and thinks he helped get Donald Trump elected

One of the original kings of fake news thinks he might have helped get Trump elected, and he's not happy about it.

38-year-old Paul Horner, who runs a network of viral fake-news site (he calls them satire), has been making a living off the practice for years. And he's big. He says he makes $10,000 per month from Google's AdSense alone, the source of most of his revenue.

But Horner says that with the rise of Trump, fake news has reached a whole new level.

"It's real scary," he told The Washington Post. "I've never seen anything like it."

"My sites were picked up by Trump supporters all the time," Horner continued. "I think Trump is in the White House because of me. His followers don’t fact-check anything — they’ll post everything, believe anything. His campaign manager posted my story about a protester getting paid $3,500 as fact. Like, I made that up. I posted a fake ad on Craigslist."

LINK: http://www.businessinsider.com/fake-news-writer-paul-horner-thinks-he-got-trump-elected-2016-11

12 replies

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Highlight:

Fake-news writer says he makes over 10,000 per month, and thinks he helped get Donald Trump elected (Original Post) CousinIT Nov 2016 OP

45% of US adults say they rely on Facebook and Google for news, and both Google and Facebook were up still_one Nov 2016 #1

a more important question MsUnderstood Nov 2016 #6

" how do I get his job? " dixiegrrrrl Nov 2016 #10

It's like when Ohio State or Alabama lose to a unranked team 50 things need to go wrong MattP Nov 2016 #2

I see those stories all the time....it's hard to keep up with them - so many need debunking. n/t Lucinda Nov 2016 #3

Google news was loaded with "fake news" stories in the two weeks before the election. I saw them still_one Nov 2016 #7

These people are jaw dropping stupid. The more facts they're sufrommich Nov 2016 #4

I thought this was going to be about HA Goodman ismnotwasm Nov 2016 #5

Donald Trump called a fake news site to thank them for helping him get elected. Initech Nov 2016 #8

most people believe everything on twitter and facebook is true. All they use is twitter/facebook. Sunlei Nov 2016 #9

Mark Zuckerberg denies that fake news on Facebook influenced the elections. Dark n Stormy Knight Nov 2016 #11

He'll get there....it's probably shocking to think that something you did to bring people together Lucinda Nov 2016 #12

still_one

(92,470 posts)

1. 45% of US adults say they rely on Facebook and Google for news, and both Google and Facebook were up

Reply to CousinIT (Original post)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 11:59 AM

Nov 2016

to their eyebrows with this trash:

"So now we have Facebook and Google being called out for showcasing "fake news" stories. It's a big deal because nearly 45 percent of US adults say they rely on the world's largest social network and world's largest search engine for news, even though they're not traditional "media" companies."

https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-google-fake-news-election-2016-trump-clinton/

"Facebook fake-news writer: ‘I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me’"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/17/facebook-fake-news-writer-i-think-donald-trump-is-in-the-white-house-because-of-me/

and now after they were willing accomplices they are trying to address the issue:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/technology/google-will-ban-websites-that-host-fake-news-from-using-its-ad-service.html?_r=0

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/17/facebook-fake-news-writer-i-think-donald-trump-is-in-the-white-house-because-of-me/

MsUnderstood

(1,654 posts)

6. a more important question

Reply to still_one (Reply #1)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 01:12 PM

Nov 2016

is how do I get his job? 120,000 for making up fake news? its my dream job. Let me tell you about the new First Lady and the alien abduction that brought her to Nevada where she met Elvis who introduced her to Trump. . .it is a crazy path to legitimacy that you want to know about.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)

10. " how do I get his job? "

Reply to MsUnderstood (Reply #6)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 02:24 PM

Nov 2016

Try Google.............

MattP

(3,304 posts)

2. It's like when Ohio State or Alabama lose to a unranked team 50 things need to go wrong

Reply to CousinIT (Original post)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 12:18 PM

Nov 2016

And at the end of the game a blown call by the ref seals it Comey!#$#!!!

Lucinda

(31,170 posts)

3. I see those stories all the time....it's hard to keep up with them - so many need debunking. n/t

Reply to CousinIT (Original post)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 12:31 PM

Nov 2016

still_one

(92,470 posts)

7. Google news was loaded with "fake news" stories in the two weeks before the election. I saw them

Reply to Lucinda (Reply #3)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 01:16 PM

Nov 2016

coming across Google assistant everyday

sufrommich

(22,871 posts)

4. These people are jaw dropping stupid. The more facts they're

Reply to CousinIT (Original post)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 12:35 PM

Nov 2016

given,the more angry their denial becomes. They don't care if they're wrong.

ismnotwasm

(42,021 posts)

5. I thought this was going to be about HA Goodman

Reply to CousinIT (Original post)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 12:43 PM

Nov 2016

Guess not

Initech

(100,108 posts)

8. Donald Trump called a fake news site to thank them for helping him get elected.

Reply to CousinIT (Original post)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 01:29 PM

Nov 2016

There you have it, the internet has officially blurred the line between reality and fiction.

Sunlei

(22,651 posts)

9. most people believe everything on twitter and facebook is true. All they use is twitter/facebook.

Reply to CousinIT (Original post)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 01:34 PM

Nov 2016

Google should go back to a basic search engine. Real media should be clearly separated from the tabloid trash 'fake news'.

Dark n Stormy Knight

(9,771 posts)

11. Mark Zuckerberg denies that fake news on Facebook influenced the elections.

Reply to CousinIT (Original post)

Thu Nov 17, 2016, 03:25 PM

Nov 2016

The idea that Facebook’s fake news problem could have influenced the result of the 2016 presidential elections is a “crazy idea,” the social network’s co-founder and chief executive said Thursday.

Mark Zuckerberg was responding to calls from media writers and experts for Facebook to examine its role in spreading hyperpartisan misinformation to a wide audience in the months before the elections. Zuckerberg countered that fake news “surely had no impact” on whom voters chose to be president.

“Voters make decisions based on their lived experience,” Zuckerberg said in an interview with David Kirkpatrick at the Techonomy conference in Half Moon Bay, Calif. “I think there is a certain profound lack of empathy in asserting that the only reason why someone could have voted the way they did is because they saw some fake news.”

Read more of his refusal to acknowledge the truth here.

Lucinda

(31,170 posts)

12. He'll get there....it's probably shocking to think that something you did to bring people together