Truth is Stranger Than Fiction When It Comes to Pornography and Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs

lewrockwell.com / By Bill Sardi / November 28, 2016

‘Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.”—Mark Twain

With recent criticism of fake news sources influencing the recent Presidential election in the U.S., a news story suddenly breaks that CNN accidentally aired 30 minutes of pornography in the Boston area on Thanksgiving Day.  But it turns out that CNN “accidentally admitted it aired pornography” in a trail of misinformation that was traced back to its source by Breitbart News.  [Breitbart News Nov 25, 2016]

The problem of fake news is so prevalent that a report by commentator Peter Cohan at Forbes.com estimates 54.2% of the online actions (shares, reactions, comments) on Facebook were generated from fake news stories at the peak of the election campaign.  Cohan estimates Google generates about $15 billion of income from so-called fake news annually! [Forbes.comNov 25, 2016]

When fake news is not new

Fake news is not new.  The Washington Post published a report revealing Benjamin Franklin successfully spread a frightful report about native Indians, working in league with King George’s British forces, had scalped hundreds of children and soldiers by creating a fake edition of a real Boston newspaper, a report that was picked up by other newspapers at the time. [Washington Post Nov 25, 2016]

Who has time for fact checking?

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