On the Internet No One Knows You’re a Dog: On Facebook, a Lie Looks Just Like the Truth. Democratic Perspective’s Mike Cosentino joins fellow regulars Gary LaMaster and Klaus von Stutterheim via call-in for a discussion of the avalanche of fake news and bigotry that engulfed U.S. media during the lead-up to the elections of 2016. For the old Soviet Union, agitprop — agitation and propaganda — was an essential tool of foreign and domestic policy, fabricated and distributed under the absolute control of the Communist Party. With the advent of the Internet, anybody can play the agitprop game — from governments and well-funded corporate players with established political or ideological agendas to individual hackers, trolls, and racists, who may have no agenda at all beyond their own personal resentments. We used to be confident that we could tell which media sources were trustworthy and which weren’t. After 2016, we’d be well advised to think again.
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