"...The reason why Allied deception operations were so effective against Hitler was because Goebbels had reduced German reporting to a lie machine, thereby destroying its credibility.
Allied news, even Allied deception was more believable by comparison.
...If the Washington Post and the New York Times are wondering why fake news is now so effective they must at look in part at their own editorial policies for an answer.
"News" is information from others we believe to be true.
Rumor, by contrast, is information from others whose truth is indeterminate.
Being by definition to be at second hand, the validity of news crucially depends on trust.
If the weatherman says expect a storm and the storm nearly always comes the weatherman acquires trust.
Alternatively if the prediction can be confirmed by access to a radar display or looking out the window the weatherman will gain credibility.
If the news reader predicts Hillary will win with a 91% probability and Hillary loses, what will listeners think?
If immediately after Al Gore gives a speech on Global Warming a blizzard frequently strikes what conclusions will the audience invariably draw?
The success of "fake news" is inextricably linked to the state of credibility of the media.
Fake news would get no purchase if the media's credibility were high.
But surveys showed it has been declining for years and the Russians could not have helped but notice.
They very cleverly exploited the fact that news organizations were increasingly used by politicians to spread lies.
...Fixing fake news necessarily means repairing the credibility of the media.
This can be done in two ways: by improving its reporting or providing the audience with tools to collaterally and direct check the facts.
It cannot be solved by automatically letting David Brock do the "vetting" or getting Mark Zuckerberg to pre-censor Facebook.
That will only increase the persuasive power of the unemployed Georgian gray news merchants.
Sun Tzu would understand."
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