# Bullshit fake news from the left **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 12, 2017, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641 "2017-02-12T09:54:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/1 "2017-02-12T09:54:32Z")
And, yes, I know the right does it too. Circulating widely at present is [this fake photoshopped picture of Steve Bannon.](http://gizmodo.com/that-photo-of-steve-bannon-is-totally-fake-1792252879) Now come on, he’s ugly enough as he is, why the fuck would people need to add to it? This stupid crap from the left and right needs to stop. The divisions are stark enough already, aggravating them with this sort of shit is beyond stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/2 "2017-02-12T10:09:02Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > And, yes, I know the right does it too. Circulating widely at present is [this fake photoshopped picture of Steve Bannon.](http://gizmodo.com/that-photo-of-steve-bannon-is-totally-fake-1792252879) > > Now come on, he’s ugly enough as he is, why the fuck would people need to add to it? This stupid crap from the left and right needs to stop. The divisions are stark enough already, aggravating them with this sort of shit is beyond stupid. …would you cut the false equivalence bullshit. The United States of Fucking America is currently being run by an imbecile who has one of most evil people in the world as his most trusted advisor. And you want people to stop posting memes? The fuck? You think this is the problem? How the fuck do you expect me to stop some teenager in Wisconsin from photoshopping a picture of Steve Bannon and uploading it to the internet? This is not fake news. This is fucking memes. And if this is the sort of thing that you think is causing “divisions” then you are a fucking moron. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/3 "2017-02-12T10:15:54Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > And, yes, I know the right does it too. Circulating widely at present is [this fake photoshopped picture of Steve Bannon.](http://gizmodo.com/that-photo-of-steve-bannon-is-totally-fake-1792252879) > > Now come on, he’s ugly enough as he is, why the fuck would people need to add to it? This stupid crap from the left and right needs to stop. The divisions are stark enough already, aggravating them with this sort of shit is beyond stupid. Well, i guess that first you should define what “news” means to you. Is it “any sort of infomation, including what some dude told me at the bar the other day”? “Legitimate media”? “Random facebook stuff”? All of the above? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/4 "2017-02-12T10:39:37Z")
I have to echo the above. Someone altering a picture is not news. It’s not even a rumor. It’s literally just an image. Someone essentially put on a filter that emphasized red, to make him look worse. It is a meme in the truest sense, as memes are altered in transmission to be more transmissible. I would also like to remind you that _tu quoque_ is not a valid argument. There is no reason to so desperately look for it. You do not need to pretend that a meme is somehow the same as “fake news.” ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/5 "2017-02-12T10:56:34Z")
I agree that the link in the OP isnt news. However, if it is being presented as such, then it is certainly fake. Or at least molehill mountaineering. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/6 "2017-02-12T11:00:55Z")
Nice tactic. Decrying as “fake news” anything you don’t like (memes, negative polls) so that when your side actually distributes fake news as a strategy it’s all normalized. _ **Both sides do it!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/7 "2017-02-12T11:05:51Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I agree that the link in the OP isnt news. However, if it is being presented as such, then it is certainly fake. Or at least molehill mountaineering. Propaganda. I guess that the right name is propaganda. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/8 "2017-02-12T11:18:31Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > Propaganda. I guess that the right name is propaganda. Yes! Good call. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/9 "2017-02-12T13:04:20Z")
The Right has a new meme, a new talking point, a new dismissive method of ignorance promotion, and that is to label things “fake News”. This, as the President’s advisor and press seceratary almost literally make up bullshit and attempt to pass it off as fact. What time is it, 7 a.m.? I need a drink. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/10 "2017-02-12T13:05:53Z")
I’m sure the OP will take comfort in knowing that I dislike Stave Bannon for his political views, not because of any unflattering photos of him I may have seen. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/11 "2017-02-12T13:51:11Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > The Right has a new meme, a new talking point, a new dismissive method of ignorance promotion, and that is to label things “fake News”. This, as the President’s advisor and press seceratary almost literally make up bullshit and attempt to pass it off as fact. What time is it, 7 a.m.? I need a drink. This is for real, and this is despicable, **aldiboronti**. The fake news that propagated during the election is a major threat to modern democracy, and the people who are riding this threat to victory are desperate to distract people from it. You’re playing right into their hands, and you should stop. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/12 "2017-02-12T13:56:08Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > And, yes, I know the right does it too. Circulating widely at present is [this fake photoshopped picture of Steve Bannon.](http://gizmodo.com/that-photo-of-steve-bannon-is-totally-fake-1792252879) The article rather fails by ending with this: > [@](#): > > Again, not very nice stuff to say. Not very nice at all. But then again, he is the guy helping dismantle everything good about the United States at the moment. So it’s hard to feel too sorry for him. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/13 "2017-02-12T14:23:12Z")
Yeah, the guy deserves more credit. “Helping”? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/14 "2017-02-12T14:35:27Z")
This is fake “news”: [http://mediamatters.org/research/2008/07/02/fox-news-airs-altered-photos-of-ny-times-report/143921](http://mediamatters.org/research/2008/07/02/fox-news-airs-altered-photos-of-ny-times-report/143921). An alleged news source altering facts. Some idiot with Twitter is just some idiot with Twitter. Do you not see the difference? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/15 "2017-02-12T14:36:18Z")
So some anonymous clown adjusts some things in Photoshop… and you’re calling it a vast left-wing conspiracy? Sad. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/16 "2017-02-12T14:38:11Z")
Al, it’s satire. Top public figures are going to be mocked. Caricatures exaggerate facial features in political cartoons, and enhanced photos have been around since the invention of the camera. Besides, Bannon needs to see for himself how being under continual scrutiny and scorn feels and reap what he sows. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/17 "2017-02-12T14:44:25Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > And, yes, I know the right does it too. Circulating widely at present is [this fake photoshopped picture of Steve Bannon.](http://gizmodo.com/that-photo-of-steve-bannon-is-totally-fake-1792252879) > > Now come on, he’s ugly enough as he is, why the fuck would people need to add to it? This stupid crap from the left and right needs to stop. The divisions are stark enough already, aggravating them with this sort of shit is beyond stupid. But you found this [kind](https://i0.wp.com/downtrend.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/michelle-melania-1.jpg?resize=634%2C797) of [shit](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1695546/images/o-APES-OBAMA-facebook.jpg) hilarious, right? I don’t recall a whole lot of outrage from the right over this. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/18 "2017-02-12T14:45:45Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > How the fuck do you expect me to stop some teenager in Wisconsin from photoshopping a picture of Steve Bannon and uploading it to the internet? This is not fake news. This is fucking memes. And if this is the sort of thing that you think is causing “divisions” then you are a fucking moron. The President of the U.S., his major advisers and media pimps delude the American public with reprehensible lies. Some teen-aged opponent of the President uploads a fake photo. It seems like a perfect equivalence, no? Give **aldiboronti** a doggy biscuit! Trump and Bannon are now free to continue their heinous world-threatening lies because “the ‘left’ does it too.” ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/19 "2017-02-12T15:03:30Z")
The difference between fake news from the left and fake news from the right, is that the fake news from the right all comes from the White house. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641/20 "2017-02-12T15:08:27Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > … Give **aldiboronti** a doggy biscuit! … I’d rather give that fool a cactus upon which to sit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bullshit-fake-news-from-the-left/779641.md?page=2)