Craig Silverman on 'fake news,' four years of President Trump, and the toxic information environment of 2020

Reliable Sources

CNN

News

3.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2020

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

BuzzFeed News media editor Craig Silverman joins Brian Stelter to analyze the evolution of "fake news," a term he began using in 2014 to describe the very real phenomenon of misinformation on social media. With the 2020 election nearing an end, he reflects on Trump's weaponization of the term and the impact of four years of anti-media rhetoric. "What happened to the term 'fake news' is a great little case study in how our information environment works," he says. He also discusses the digital disinformation beat, sites like Facebook, and what the platforms are still failing to do.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The news has never been more real.
0:05.0	And yet this turning point in American history could well be called the fake news age.
0:15.0	Fake news.
0:17.0	It's a slur.
0:18.6	It's a favorite of the presidents.
0:20.8	And it's a key factor at the end of this election season.
0:25.0	So let me show you why.
0:27.0	Let's cue the music.
0:28.0	Welcome to this week's Reliable Sources Podcast.
0:32.0	I'm your host Brian Stelter and this podcast edition is our way of going in depth with media leaders
0:39.5	talking about how the news is made, how the media world works or doesn't work.
0:47.0	We are taping this episode on Thursday, October 29th.
0:51.0	Everyone seems to be limping to the finish line at the end of this never-ending election year and this election season.
0:59.2	And in many ways this election and the stage being said either for the re-election of President Trump or the election of Joe Biden,
1:07.0	is a chance to look back at the last four years and how Trump has changed politics and how Trump has changed
1:14.4	news. So to do that, I asked Craig Silverman to join me.
1:20.3	Craig is the media editor at Buzzfeed News.
1:24.0	He also has produced something that's an incredibly useful tool.
1:29.0	He edited a book called The Verification Handbook for Disinformation and Media Manipulation. the verification handbook for disinformation and media manipulation.
1:35.0	And we will talk about that tool kit later.
1:39.0	But Craig, first, thank you for coming on with me.
1:41.0	Thank you.
	...

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