Apple CEO Tim Cook is asking the tech community to adopt a larger role in weeding out “fake news” without curbing free speech.
The phrase “fake news” generally refers to headlines designed to trick readers into clicking. As reported by CNN, “Fictional stories with titles like ‘Pope Francis shocks world, endorses Donald Trump for president’ won millions of clicks.”
It can be difficult for some people to tell the difference between fake news and real news, and the public doesn’t deserve to be deceived.
Fake news is “killing people’s minds,” Cook told the Daily Telegraph. These stories are being pushed by organizations that want to “get the most clicks, not tell the most truth.”
The scope of the fake news problem became apparent in November when Trump’s victory had us questioning the authenticity of all the news sources that assured us Hillary would win.
“We need the modern version of the public service announcement campaign. It can be done quickly if there is a will,” says Cook. “All of us technology companies need to create some tools that help diminish the volume of fake news.”
As Cook calls on the tech community to launch a “massive campaign” against fake news, we’d like to point out that Apple is part of the problem.
The second CNN story linked below was posted as an Apple News story earlier this month. The article’s title suggests that Donald Trump attacked veterans, when in reality he was criticizing Vietnam vet John McCain.
Did Apple news push the Monica Crowley plagiarism story from CNN? An expert just declared her dissertatioin to be perfectly cited.
The major “papers of record”, including CNN, Washington Post and New York Times have all been caught repeatedly pushing stories not properly vetted that have turned out to be fake. And not a retraction in sight.
CNN especially has been repeatedly accused of spreading fake news. Is Apple going to vet all of these sources?
Editor’s note: It has occurred to me that once a fake story has hit mainstream sources through three news cycles, it is accepted as confirmed. The ignorance and corruption of the mainstream media is amazing.