Fake News

Justin McBrayer

Man Bites Dog

There's an old saying in journalism: "Dog bites man, who cares? Man bites dog, now that's news." The aphorism captures the idea that...

Justin McBrayer

Internet + Group Polarization = Social Disfunction

On the one year anniversary of the Capitol riots in Washington, DC, there are lots of armchair analysts offering explanations for how...

Justin McBrayer

Clickbait 101: How to Frame for Effect

News organizations are in the business of making money. And making money requires having an audience. That means everyone in the news...

Justin McBrayer

Can You Spot Fake News?

The answer to the question is "only sometimes." Further, the vast majority of us are worse at it than we think, and those of us who are...

Justin McBrayer

The Capitol Riot wasn't a Violence Problem. It was a Fake News Problem.

For the last two weeks, Americans have been wrestling with the implications of the mob attack on the Capitol that left several dead. ...

Justin McBrayer

Why I'm Not on Twitter

I'm not on Twitter. That drives many of my friends and colleagues crazy. My editor advises me to use Twitter to build an audience and...

Justin McBrayer

Why Fact-Checking Fails

[note: this is an expanded version of an article that originally appeared in the Durango Herald on 12/21/20] We face a fake news epidemic...

Justin McBrayer

Social Media Censorship

Last week, Facebook announced that it would be banning any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust from its platform. Doing so...