How Russia Is Dividing America with Real "Fake News": The Daily Show

When you hear the phrase "fake news,"
-you probably think of this, right? -(laughter)
But before the president co-opted that phrase
to mean news that he doesn't like,
"fake news" meant exactly that.
Deliberately false stories posing as news.
Especially in non-traditional news sources like digital media.
Fake news online is a major problem,
especially considering that two thirds of adults in America said
they get some of their news from social media.
And the other third said they get it from Steve Harvey,
-so it's bad all around. -(laughter)
And earlier this week, we saw another example
of online news going haywire.
Well, Google and Facebook are apologizing
for amplifying false news stories
that surfaced in the hours after the shooting.
According to the Chronicle, Google blamed an algorithm
for highlighting stories
that falsely identified an innocent man as the shooter.
MAN: Within hours of the attack, Geary Danley's name
and his photo were spread across the Internet.
Our family and all of our extended family, the Danleys,
have been getting death threats, and would like people to know
that social media spun this out of control
and without seeking the truth, have jumped to the conclusion
that somehow, our father was involved.
That's right.
Millions of people are now linking an innocent man's face
to a mass shooting--
which is really messed up, when you think about it.
This poor guy's walking around, trying to live his life,
with people probably walking up to him, saying,
"Hey, are you the guy who shot everyone
"and then killed himself?
"Not cool, man. Not cool.
Yo, can I get a selfie real quick? Yeah."
And this story was just one example.
After Vegas, Facebook and Google News
were filled with fake news about multiple shooters,
fictional victims, ISIS involvement,
my sex tape-- all fake things, very fake things.
Especially the part of me crying at the end.
I wouldn't cry. Why would I cry? Come on.
It's fake. That's all you need to know.
And by the way, the fake news about Vegas
is not an isolated incident.
This is turning out to be a problem across all social media.
NEWSWOMAN: The New York Times reports...
On Twitter, you had these bots, these automated accounts
that were helping to spread fake news.
Damn. So Facebook has fake news,
Google has fake news, Twitter has fake news.
Who would have thought we'd be living in a world
where Snapchat is our only legitimate source of news?
Yeah, and good luck if you're a slow reader.
"North Korea is about to..." Aah! It's gone! It's gone!
What was it gonna say? What was it gonna say?
What? Reply?
Okay. (clicks tongue) There you go.
I guess missiles for missiles.
Now, it would... it would already be bad
if all the fake news
coming out from the inside of the White House
was the only thing we had to deal with,
but, as we've learned, the Russians are also involved.
And if there's one guaranteed way to make any situation worse,
just, uh, sprinkle a little Russia over it.
NEWSWOMAN: Facebook says about ten million people
saw Russia-linked ads on its sites
before and after the 2016 election.
The number of these Russian-linked Facebook ads
that did appear during the election season
were actually targeting two key states:
Michigan and Wisconsin, those critical
to Donald Trump's victory last November.
This is unbelievable.
Even the Russians knew they had to campaign in Wisconsin.
Even them. You know what I'm thinking?
If Hillary runs again,
maybe she should collude with some Russians. Maybe.
Just have them on her team.
(Russian accent): Now, remember Hill-dawg,
smile and talk nice about coal.
Okay, get out there! Get out there!
And now, regardless of your politics,
the reason you should care about fake news online
is because it's not just about Russians meddling
in U.S. elections.
It's about Russians working to divide everyone.
Ads were intended to promote divisive messages,
and some even included anti-Muslim messages.
NEWSWOMAN: ...accounts' regularly shared content
intended to deepen the racial divide
and stir up outrage.
NEWSMAN: Just this past weekend, as some NFL players protested
during the National Anthem,
Russian trolls flooded social media with the hashtags,
#BoycottTheNFL and #TakeAKnee.
You see? The Russians were playing both sides.
BoycottTheNFL and TakeAKnee.
You can't do that. Next, they'll be saying stuff
like, ProChoiceForLIfe-- you can't do it.
For more on the Russian effort to influence American discourse,
we're joined now by our senior American correspondent,
Michael Kosta, everybody!
-(cheering, applause) -Thank you. Thank you.
-Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. -Michael...
Michael, as a... as an American, are you worried
that Russia is using social media to divide this country?
Trevor, I'm as worried about Russia
as I am this burning sensation on my genitals.
So you're very concerned, then?
Uh, not at all.
Usually these things take care of themselves.
But I am pissed off.
As an American, I'm not gonna sit by and watch Russia
take credit for dividing America.
You think it takes foreign meddling
to get Americans angry at each other?
The moment we meet someone, we're like, "You're from Ohio?
"Screw you, I'm from Michigan.
"You're from Grand Rapids?
"That place sucks. I'm from Ann Arbor.
"You're from Ann Arbor? What's your address?
"That's where I live, too.
Oh, you're my dad? Screw you, Dad."
See, Trevor,
I don't need Russia to make me hate my own dad.
Okay. That got really personal quick.
But, Michael, uh,
you have to admit technology is making this worse.
Russians linked to its government,
are now using Facebook to get Americans worked up.
Yeah, you know who else does that?
My racist uncle every time he posts on my feed.
"Don't take (bleep) from that African boss of yours, Michael."
"I never would, Ralph."
Look...
I'm not gonna let Russia take the credit for dividing us.
We have a rich history of dividing ourselves.
A meme didn't start the Civil War.
You think carrier pigeons
were dropping these all over the south?
"Freedom should be for everybody
but that's none of my business."
Okay, okay. But, Michael, come on. I'm sure the Russian efforts
-are slightly more sophisticated than memes. -I mean, not really.
Here's a real one that Facebook turned over to Congress.
(Russian accent): "Why do I have a gun?
"Because it's easier for my family
to get me out of jail than out of cemetery."
(normal voice): Now, if an American had written that,
it would have said the cemetery.
And cemetery would have been spelled wrong.
Here's... here's another...
(laughter and applause)
It's true.
Here's another real one.
Tell me if you think an American came up with,
(Russian accent): "In love with Texas shape."
Oh, okay, Michael, look. I get it. I get it.
So, so what are you saying?
Americans should just ignore the whole thing?
(normal voice): Hell no. We're gonna hit back hard.
We're going full on Meme War.
Let me show you these dank memes coming out of the Pentagon,
another great shape.
"Rolling into Russian summer like... "
(laughter)
You like that, Russia? How about this?
"I can haz borscht."
Michael Kosta, everybody. We'll be right back.
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How Russia Is Dividing America with Real "Fake News": The Daily Show

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