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© GRAPHIC NEWS

© GRAPHIC NEWS

© GRAPHIC NEWS

Graphic shows top five fake and mainstream news stories data on Facebook in three months to election day.
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POLITICS

Fake U.S. election news

By Duncan Mil

November 23, 2016 - The backlash in the wake of the divisive U.S. election has centred on false news stories. In the final weeks of the campaign, fake news from hoax websites outperformed stories from mainstream outlets.

In the final three months of the campaign, 20 top-performing false election stories from hoax sites and hyperpartisan blogs generated 8,711,000 engagements -- shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook -- according to BuzzFeed Canada editor, Craig Silverman.

Within the same period, the 20 best-performing election stories from 19 major news websites generated a total of 7,367,000 engagements on Facebook.

Of the 20 top-performing false election stories identified in the analysis, all but three were overtly pro-Donald Trump or anti-Hillary Clinton. BuzzFeed found that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was the host of more than 100 U.S. political websites.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 23/11/2016; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: WTOE 5 News, Washington Post
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