You know, I really have to wonder about people who constantly post fake news stories on social media

[Tommy_Carcetti]

There are a few folks I see on my Facebook feed--not direct friends of mine, but friends of friends--who are always posting clickbait type "news" stories from fake conservative news outlets. These all have to deal with supposedly scandalous and breaking news that is sure to devastate Hillary Clinton and lead Donald Trump to victory. A simple fact check on a site like Snopes will reveal all of these stories, without fail, to be complete and utter hoaxes.

A couple of examples of headlines they've posted (I won't bother posting links to the clickbait sites they're associated with):

"Breaking! NYPD Just Raided Hillary's Property and What They Found Will Put Her and Bill In Prison"

"Postal Worker Busted Destroying Absentee Trump Ballots in Major Swing State"

"Roger Stone: Huma Abedin ‘Most Likely a Saudi Spy’ with ‘Deep, Inarguable Connections’ to ‘Global Terrorist Entity’"

"BREAKING: Democratic Leaders Now Asking Hillary To Step Down"

By all indications, these people are legitimate, bonafide Trump supporters. They are not posting these headlines to fool people or get a rise out of people. And without fail, a few people will "Like" these links or comment about how shocking news this is.

Here's the thing about hoax news, though. It doesn't last. Like for example, if you read that Democratic leaders are asking Hillary to step down, eventually a logical person would expect all the traditional news agencies to start reporting that there are actually Democratic leaders asking Hillary to step down. And when it hasn't happened after a day or two, well.....

Eventually, you'll see that no one else has picked up on the "shocking" news because it doesn't actually exist. It's a fake. And someone who continuously posts fake news you'd think would eventually run into a credibility problem. Especially if you continue to post fake news from fake news sites.

But do they know that? Do they honestly believe these sites, and the fact that they received positive feedback for posting this "news" convince them they are performing some sort of service? And do they wonder why none of these stories, and I mean none of them, ever receive any traction? And do they honestly think they are getting this from legitimate sites, or is there a mad rush to repost anything that might fit their agenda, no matter how incredulous it might be?

Is this a prime example of the Dunning-Kruger effect, wherein a stupid person is too stupid to know he or she is stupid? And is receiving positive feedback from other stupid people on their stupidity only furthering the vicious cycle?

[mdbl]

2. The only thing you can do is drop them from your facebook page and tell them why

I have dropped many friends and family due to their unwitting dissemination of right wing bullshit. Good luck.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

3. They're not even on my friends list.

They are friends of friends. Sometimes I do click on their profile out of morbid curiosity.

[mdbl]

4. they are still coming at you through others you know. Get rid of them and you get rid of the BS

coming from their accounts. I used to reply back with all the info and snopes links to set the record straight and they don't care. When I was blue in the face all the time I decided it was time to cut ties.

[slumcamper]

7. I hear ya!

Dunning-Kruger, confirmation bias, or whatever...these folks seem to have been swallowed into the fever swamps of conspiracy theory and exist in an alternate reality. These things are real to them, and pointing out otherwise is to no avail. They simply sink further.

That a nation birthed amid the intellectual fruits of the Enlightenment, guided by gifted thinkers possessed of extraordinary ability to REASON is now home to so many millions who exhibit gross cognitive inability is stunning. Legions have been conditioned to accept propaganda as truth, their minds coopted and enslaved by the dark forces that oppose that greatest freedom of all--the freedom of thought.

The Information Age has had a deleterious effect on many. Open, critical thinking and healthy skepticism are endangered. The paralytic effects of this swelling tide of cognitive dysfunction are seen at all levels, from our streets to our workplaces, to our most essential societal institutions. This nothing short of a national emergency.

Maybe it's time to seriously consider developing a national database of such folks as certifiably "CRAZY." These are dangerous people who threaten our national stability in every major sphere, social, political, economic, and religious.

Alas, what would Gandhi do?

[Johnny2X2X]

8. This isn't mainstream

This is mainstream for the GOP now. And the FBI too.