Presenter: Afra Dömeke

SOCIAL MEDIA
AND FAKE NEWS
IN THE 2016
ELECTION
Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M.
CONTENTS
1.Introduction
2.Problem
3.Goal
4.Presented Ideas
5.Conclusion
6.Why this paper is important?
 Introduction

19th century, newsprint and presses

20th century, radio and television

early 2000s, online news

Most recently, the focus of concern

has shifted to social media.
Problem

Recent evidence shows that:

1)62 percent of US adults get news on social media
2) the most popular fake news on Facebook
3) many people report that they believe them
4) the most discussed fake news stories tended to favor Donald
Trump over Hillary Clinton
 Goal

◦ Donald Trump would

not have been
elected as president if
there were no
influence of fake
news.

◦ offer background to
this debate.
Presented ideas
◦ Discuss the importance of
social media relative to
sources of political news and
information
◦ Prove that fake news widely
shared via social media
◦ The extent of exposure to fake
news.
◦ “fake news” to be
news articles that are
intentionally and
verifiably false, and
could mislead
What is fake
readers.
news?
◦ 2016 US presidential
elections
Example
intentionally fabricated news articles:
◦ FBI agent suspected in Hillary email leaks found
dead in apparent murder-suicide.”

satirical websites:
◦ Pope Francis had endorsed Donald Trump’s
presidential candidacy
 A Model of Fake News
◦ How would we understand fake news in
the context of such a model?
◦ Genereally not a long-term
reputation,maximize the short-run profits
from clicks
 Database

online survey of
156 fake news
1208 US adults
articles
aged 18 year
 1.news consumption

2.time spent on reading,

Survey watching, or listening to
election news in general
and on social media

3.the most important source

of news and information
about the 2016 election
Survey

4.“Do you recall

seeing this
reported or
discussed prior to
the election?”
Survey

◦ To test this idea, they created a set of

plausible fake-news headlines that were not
actually published.
◦ An example: “Leaked documents reveal that
the Trump campaign planned a scheme to
offer to drive Democratic voters to the polls
but then take them to the wrong place.”
 Fifth
Importance of common
social media response
as a source of info
Role of Social Media on
Spread of Fake News
How much exposure

◦ .

As a result, the average adult saw

and remembered 1.14% fake news
articles from the fake news
database.
Results
For fake news to have changed the
outcome of the election, a single
fake news story would need to have
convinced about 0.7 percent of
Clinton voters and non-voters who
saw it to shift their votes to Trump, a
persuasion rate equivalent to seeing
36 television campaign ads.
Conclusion

◦It is very reasonable to say that

based on set of facts, it is
unlikely that fake news swayed
the election.
 WHY THIS
PAPER IS Counter
example

IMPORTANT?
THANK YOU!
References
◦ Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social Media and Fake News in
the 2016 Election. Journal Of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 211-
236