Top five fake news stories of 2016
Devan Trout, Associate Writer
Graphic courtesy of Megan Conley
Fake, a word to describe things that are not genuine, or something that could be considered a forgery, sham or counterfeit. With such a negative connotation it is hard to believe that faking the news can bring people great joy, but in 2016 we were inundated with plenty of frauds. Did you get taken in by any of these?
1. Thousands of fraudulent ballots for Clinton uncovered
On September 30, 2016, the Christian Times Newspaper website published an article that claimed that “tens of thousands” of pre-marked ballots were being kept in a warehouse in Ohio. The photo they used to solidify the story was taken a year previously in Birmingham England, and simply captures a man unloading a truck of ballot boxes at a polling station.
2. Donald Trump suffers from cardiac arrest while addressing the public
An NBC News imitation site claimed in October that Trump had died of a heart attack and even launched a hashtag #RIPTrump. This was supported by a picture of what appeared to be Trump collapsed in the background but Trump’s doctor reassured the public that he was well and healthy.
3. Fox News exposes traitor Megyn Kelly, kicks her out for backing Hillary
This story began to circulate in August claiming that Kelly had endorsed Hillary, criticized Donald Trump and had been suffering a drop in ratings in “The Rachel Maddow Show.” It was proven to be false once it was traced back to endingthefed.com.
4. Senator Elizabeth Warren endorses Bernie Sanders
This article was found on a webpage masquerading as a New York Times article and was released sometime in February. The New York Times responded by releasing an article claiming that it was false and detailed how the webpage had mimicked them. They ended with saying that Warren had not yet endorsed a presidential candidate and warned readers of the article.
5. Obama declares his family will move to Canada if Trump is elected
This story was published in August and was a joke made by the Canadian satire site called the Burrard Street Journal. They pretended to quote Obama saying that he and his family would move but it caused some confusion among reporters, some saying that the Daily Mail refused to give a straight answer to the rumor. However, there was never a rumor, just a joke.
