# An unexpected source of fake news in the US election... Macedonia **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 5, 2016, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-unexpected-source-of-fake-news-in-the-us-election-macedonia/773909 "2016-12-05T05:24:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-unexpected-source-of-fake-news-in-the-us-election-macedonia/773909/1 "2016-12-05T05:24:09Z")
From the BBC: **The city getting rich from fake news** Many of the fake news websites that sprang up during the US election campaign have been traced to a small city in Macedonia, where teenagers are pumping out sensationalist stories to earn cash from advertising. > **[The city getting rich from fake news](https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38168281)** > > Many of the fake news websites that sprang up during the US election campaign have been traced to a small city in Macedonia, where teenagers are pumping out sensationalist stories to earn cash from advertising. One interesting thing is that it’s not political at all, it’s just a money-making scam. Has spam swung the US election? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-unexpected-source-of-fake-news-in-the-us-election-macedonia/773909/2 "2016-12-05T13:25:11Z")
I hope they’re not attaching images to their fake stories. People have known for thousands of years to beware of Greeks bearing GIFs. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-unexpected-source-of-fake-news-in-the-us-election-macedonia/773909/3 "2016-12-05T13:36:05Z")
To some extent, I would say that the greatest threat to the existence of the US and other nations is the Internet. The relevance of national borders is quickly becoming more and more quaint, for at least some percentage of the world. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-unexpected-source-of-fake-news-in-the-us-election-macedonia/773909/4 "2016-12-05T15:41:51Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > I hope they’re not attaching images to their fake stories. People have known for thousands of years to beware of Greeks bearing GIFs. Don’t tell the folks in Greece that the people living in Macedonia (the country) today are Greeks… 🙂 Is this really “unexpected”? Internet scamming is rampant in much of Eastern Europe, especially those countries offering little economic opportunity. Anyway, fake news is here to stay, so the various political parties better get used to it and develop strategies on how to operate in an environment where you never know who’s going to put what out there on the intertubes. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-unexpected-source-of-fake-news-in-the-us-election-macedonia/773909/5 "2016-12-05T17:23:26Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Don’t tell the folks in Greece that the people living in Macedonia (the country) today are Greeks… . I see no reason why such a niggling detail should be used to criticize a perfectly wretched pun.