# Fake news: How do Dems use this to their advantage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 9, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307 "2016-12-09T21:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/1 "2016-12-09T21:33:38Z")
It was a tough lesson, but we’ve relatively recently learned that a large portion of the Republican base will literally believe anything, as long as it reinforces and/or conforms to their world view. How do Democrats use this to their advantage? Can they? _Would_ they? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/2 "2016-12-09T21:47:38Z")
I think the advantage is in having your opponents in a fantasy land that they no longer have control over. It hurts right now. But you have to remember there are cycles to things and I can’t see don the con, with his karma, and his lies, and his promises, coming to a good end in american public life… I think the MSM needs to cover don the con as a con artist who somehow made it into the white house. All truths need to be fact checked now and it will be a part of all follow up reports. We need real time fact checking on debates, etc. They certainly didn’t cover the campaign that way. ---
**Author:** ![ultimate11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/49beb7/32.png) [@ultimate11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultimate11)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/3 "2016-12-09T23:28:24Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I think the MSM needs to cover don the con as a con artist who somehow made it into the white house. All truths need to be fact checked now and it will be a part of all follow up reports. We need real time fact checking on debates, etc. Fact checking on BOTH, not just Mr. Trump, but also Mrs. Clinton as well. But the MSM also needs to improve on how it handles facts as well. It kinda sickens me that the MSM complains about fake news when they’re guilty in flubbing facts to support their agendas. Fox News and MSNBC, I’m looking at you both. If the MSM wants to be reputable, then they should start covering real news without flubbing facts. They won’t because people are too gullible to look at the facts nowadays- or at least some people. Is my claim baseless that both sides are guilty, liberal and conservative outlets? I already mentioned [MSNBC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSNBC_controversies), and I’ve also mentioned [Fox News.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News_Channel_controversies) Both are two different sides in the political spectrum, both with bias. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trust an agency entirely, but it helps to investigate the sources and determine if there’s something wrong with the article you just read. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/4 "2016-12-09T23:40:38Z")
You, apparently, have never read anything from Occupy Democrats, or seen the following they have. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/5 "2016-12-09T23:49:03Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > You, apparently, have never read anything from Occupy Democrats, or seen the following they have. I agree that they do, in fact, have a tumultuous relationship with accuracy: > **[Fact-checks | PolitiFact](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/list/?speaker=occupy-democrats)** > > PolitiFact is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others on its Truth-O-Meter. I would note that most of these are simplifications, and dishonest framing of issues, not something like _Pizzagate_, which is, for me, the perfect example of fake news. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/6 "2016-12-09T23:58:08Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > You, apparently, have never read anything from Occupy Democrats, or seen the following they have. I will assume he does not follow them, I myself do not. Democrat voters are more likely to identify fake news, even if it supports their views. While the numbers of the gullible are very scary for the Republican side they are still high for Democrats. As for the OP: best thing to do for Democrats? Do not attempt to shut down the spreaders of fake news directly, go for the makers or the people funding the fake news groups and educate them about the harm they are causing by giving monetary support or easy to distort news to the swill makers. And support more responsible news groups and make an effort to share their reporting. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/7 "2016-12-10T00:00:24Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > It was a tough lesson, but we’ve relatively recently learned that a large portion of the Republican base will literally believe anything, as long as it reinforces and/or conforms to their world view. > > How do Democrats use this to their advantage? Can they? _Would_ they? First, the Democrats would have to re-establish some credibility with conservatives, and Republicans before they try to scam them. just sayin’ Many of those people already believe that Democrats are constantly providing fake news, and are taking statements out of context for political purposes. Calling everyone a racist who doesn’t accept Democrat groupthink as gospel only makes it harder for Democrat fake news to gain traction. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/8 "2016-12-10T00:28:48Z")
> [@ultimate11](#): > > Fact checking on BOTH, not just Mr. Trump, but also Mrs. Clinton as well. > > But the MSM also needs to improve on how it handles facts as well. It kinda sickens me that the MSM complains about fake news when they’re guilty in flubbing facts to support their agendas. Fox News and MSNBC, I’m looking at you both. If the MSM wants to be reputable, then they should start covering real news without flubbing facts. They won’t because people are too gullible to look at the facts nowadays- or at least some people. > > Is my claim baseless that both sides are guilty, liberal and conservative outlets? I already mentioned [MSNBC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSNBC_controversies), and I’ve also mentioned [Fox News.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News_Channel_controversies) Both are two different sides in the political spectrum, both with bias. > > It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trust an agency entirely, but it helps to investigate the sources and determine if there’s something wrong with the article you just read. Well you have a bias. The election is over and you still can’t get enough skin off Hillary. I’m not a buyer of the everybody does it thing. Fox is pollution. MSNBC is actually pretty mainstream, and doing a lot of journalism. If you are linking them you have lost any sense of nuance or meaning, which is OK too. Meanwhile CNN seems to be lost, yet I have been more interested in them lately. They haven’t known what to do except have panels of people arguing. No, the problems with Fox news do not mean these problems happen equally everywhere. I’ll check the links but do you have anything you want to say about MSNBC “flubbing” news? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/9 "2016-12-10T00:36:52Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Democrat voters are more likely to identify fake news, even if it supports their views. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/10 "2016-12-10T00:36:54Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > First, the Democrats would have to re-establish some credibility with conservatives, and Republicans before they try to scam them. just sayin’ > > Many of those people already believe that Democrats are constantly providing fake news, and are taking statements out of context for political purposes. Calling everyone a racist who doesn’t accept Democrat groupthink as gospel only makes it harder for Democrat fake news to gain traction. Is it only me or is this hilarious? Performance art piece? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/11 "2016-12-10T00:42:35Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Cite? I knew I missed something, here is the cite I was referring to: > **[Most Americans Who See Fake News Believe It, New Survey Says](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/fake-news-survey)** > > An exclusive Ipsos poll conducted for BuzzFeed News found that 75% of American adults who were familiar with a fake news headline viewed the story as accurate. And it should be **Democratic** voters, not Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/12 "2016-12-10T00:52:21Z")
I know I can tell Facebook I no longer want to see Occupy Democrats links, but I kind of like reading that for trainwreck reasons. You won’t believe what happens next, their response is perfect! Share if you agree! ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/13 "2016-12-10T00:57:09Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I knew I missed something, here is the cite I was referring to: > > [Most Americans Who See Fake News Believe It, New Survey Says](https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/fake-news-survey?utm_term=.atxZb0eQ0#.clBomDAlD) > > And it should be **Democratic** voters, not Democrat. My gripe with the study would be this: Here are the five “fake news” headlines that they tested: [ul] [li]Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President, Releases Statement[/li][li]Donald Trump Sent His Own Plane to Transport 200 Stranded Marines[/li][li]FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide[/li][li]Donald Trump Protester Speaks Out: “I Was Paid $3,500 to Protest Trump’s Rally”[/li][li]FBI Director Comey Just Put a Trump Sign on His Front Lawn[/li][/ul] Trying to look at those objectively, I’d say that the first four are all strongly-pro-Trump. In other words, if I were a Trump supporter, seeking comfort from news headlines that confirm my bias, I’d probably find it in each of those. The last one is more of a mixed bag. I suppose if you like Trump, maybe you think it’s a good thing he’s supporting Trump too, but if you were a Clinton supporter, you’d probably see that story as comforting too, in a way, because it shows what a biased partisan that mean ole James Comey is, so of course he’s investigating Clinton, he’s a died-in-the-wool Trump supporter. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, [Trump voters far outpaced Clinton voters in believing the accuracy of the first four fake news headlines, and on the fifth one, they basically split even](https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2016-12/6/18/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane02/sub-buzz-3643-1481068104-1.jpg?no-auto) (76% to 73%). In short, I think their study sucks. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/14 "2016-12-10T01:00:17Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > In short, I think their study sucks. In short, your opinion dude. 🙂 I think the study does follow or is supported by what a notorious fake news creator noted: > **[We Tracked Down A Fake-News Creator In The Suburbs. Here's What We Learned](https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/11/23/503146770/npr-finds-the-head-of-a-covert-fake-news-operation-in-the-suburbs)** > > "The whole idea from the start was to build a site that could kind of infiltrate the echo chambers of the alt-right," says Jestin Coler, whose company, Disinfomedia, is behind some fake news sites. > [@](#): > > During the run-up to the presidential election, fake news really took off. “It was just anybody with a blog can get on there and find a big, huge Facebook group of kind of rabid Trump supporters just waiting to eat up this red meat that they’re about to get served,” Coler says. “It caused an explosion in the number of sites. I mean, my gosh, the number of just fake accounts on Facebook exploded during the Trump election.” > > Coler says his writers have tried to write fake news for liberals — but they just never take the bait. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/15 "2016-12-10T01:13:34Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > In short, your opinion dude. 🙂 I know, and I thank you for sharing the cite. I just wanted to provide some counter-points to the study for people to consider. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/16 "2016-12-10T01:35:12Z")
Democrats need better propagandists. They need their Frank Luntz or Edward Bernays. Hillary’s slogan was “I’m with her” and Trump took it apart in two seconds by saying “I’m with you.” These people are just bad at their jobs. Or maybe that’s too old school. Maybe it’s out of the hands of traditional media. In this brave new world maybe the left needs better memes and shitposters. The right had a decade of prep for this with 4chan. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/17 "2016-12-10T02:45:18Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Well you have a bias. The election is over and you still can’t get enough skin off Hillary. > > I’m not a buyer of the everybody does it thing. Fox is pollution. MSNBC is actually pretty mainstream, and doing a lot of journalism. If you are linking them you have lost any sense of nuance or meaning, which is OK too. Meanwhile CNN seems to be lost, yet I have been more interested in them lately. They haven’t known what to do except have panels of people arguing. > > No, the problems with Fox news do not mean these problems happen equally everywhere. > > I’ll check the links but do you have anything you want to say about MSNBC “flubbing” news? You actually believe left of center media is objective? ---
**Author:** ![ultimate11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/49beb7/32.png) [@ultimate11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultimate11)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/18 "2016-12-10T03:23:19Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Well you have a bias. The election is over and you still can’t get enough skin off Hillary. > > I’m not a buyer of the everybody does it thing. Fox is pollution. MSNBC is actually pretty mainstream, and doing a lot of journalism. If you are linking them you have lost any sense of nuance or meaning, which is OK too. Meanwhile CNN seems to be lost, yet I have been more interested in them lately. They haven’t known what to do except have panels of people arguing. > > No, the problems with Fox news do not mean these problems happen equally everywhere. > > I’ll check the links but do you have anything you want to say about MSNBC “flubbing” news? Since when did I started to pick a side? I pick on no sides in the election because no one wins. I voted straight D (cause I’m in Illinois and I have no choice\*), but still hoped for a Trump victory. (Another reason, though, was because I wanted Mark Kirk out of the Senate. We cannot have a crazed, alt-right politician in the senate. It’s a direct vote for congress, so I do have some power.) Am I just an odd guy? Maybe I’m the last American on the face of this country to accept the results despite voting for a candidate that lost. Whatever makes my family happy. :rolleyes: Guess you just clicked on the “Criticism of Fox News” link on my post instead of the “Criticism of MSNBC” link and finding out the problem with _both_ agencies. I think I said it pretty clear about MSNBC. It has a liberal bias. And I think I said it also pretty clear about Fox News. It has a Conservative bias. Do I want to repost what I just said above? I don’t watch CNN as I used to because they spend too much time on celebrity-related journalism than regular news. ABC (and on a lesser note, Yahoo!) also belongs on the category. Back in the 2000s, my family used to watch ABC World News, but it had just 7 minutes of news before switching to softer news. I think the nail in the coffin came after they spent a week covering China, and we switched to CBS for evening news. (If we wanted more local news, I’d now use WGN to fill in the gap for 4PM news, and CBS for the news at 5PM and 6PM. (And 60 Minutes for Sunday). And by we, I mean myself and my dad, my mother still watches ABC, but that’s her decision. Both sides use fake news to their advantage. It’s a cutthroat world where every pawn is used in play in politics. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/19 "2016-12-10T04:30:25Z")
There’s nothing that needs to be done about fake news. Trust the public or get rid of democracy entirely. There really is no middle ground here. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307/20 "2016-12-10T04:57:59Z")
> [@ultimate11](#): > > Since when did I started to pick a side? I pick on no sides in the election because no one wins. I voted straight D (cause I’m in Illinois and I have no choice\*), but still hoped for a Trump victory. (Another reason, though, was because I wanted Mark Kirk out of the Senate. We cannot have a crazed, alt-right politician in the senate. And yet you wanted a crazed alt-right president? Are you insane? Delusional? This is political comedy theater…right??? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fake-news-how-do-dems-use-this-to-their-advantage/774307.md?page=2)