Fake News

The 2016 election was one of the most controversial elections in probably the United States history. It was a full year of negative political ads and several articles that were made up about both candidates, which made it difficult for some people to tell what was real or fake news. Samantha Subramanian focuses on Veles, an 18-year-old boy from the Balkan nation that made thousands of dollars through creating fake news. This story within itself is pretty interesting, but since most people in the United States saw several of these fake news articles everyday shared through Facebook or tweeted it was able to resonate with the audience. That is what was able to give this piece a human element because it was about something we all know about and it gave insight to Veles life. That is similar to the documentary that we watched in class, when they were able to talk to internet trolls. I would say this is a more effective piece then that one because it gave us more information on the guy, so that we could see why he decided start writing these articles. As most people expected it was for money, but it was a little bit more then that. He lived in an underdeveloped neighborhood with limited opportunities and when he got the chance to get some of the material things that he otherwise would not be able to afford he took it. This appeals to the audience’s emotions or pathos, so that they can feel a little bit of sympathy for him. Overall that made this an entertaining piece that I thoroughly enjoyed, along with I am sure the majority of the class simply due to how relatable it was. Most people watch shows or read books because they can relate to a character or the story. In this case, it was a story that we were and are all too familiar with. Even though the election is over just like the article said there are still thousands or maybe even millions of fake news stories that we could find on the internet.