True or Fake Stories / Accounts / Anecdotes

[Showster]

We all know Santa Claus is not real but we all want to believe in him.

 

Trump is the real president of America but those in America do not want to believe it.

 

Any other true or fake news?

 

 

http://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/ho-ho-hoax-story-of-terminally-ill-american-boy-dying-in-santas-arms-may-not-be

 

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee - In the spirit of Christmas, Santa Claus himself might have just hopped on the fake news trend that has been taking the world by storm.

Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the USA Today network, had reported about an incident in a local hospital, where a terminally ill five-year-old boy died in the arms of Santa Claus actor Eric Schmitt-Matzen a few weeks ago.

The story went viral, and was picked up by major news networks.

However on Wednesday (Dec 14), the paper published a note from editor Jack McElroy and the author of the original story, columnist Sam Venable, saying they have been unable to verify the story as accurate.

"Since publication, the News Sentinel has done additional investigation in an attempt to independently verify Schmitt-Matzen's account. This has proven unsuccessful. Although facts about his background have checked out, his story of bringing a gift to a dying child remains unverified," said Mr McElroy and Mr Venable in the note.

 

 

 

 

 

"Therefore, because the story does not meet the newspaper's standards of verification, we are no longer standing by the veracity of Schmitt-Matzen's account."

The paper had reported the story on Sunday (Dec 11), after contacting and interviewing Mr Schmitt-Matzen, who has been playing Santa Claus for years at the local hospital, following a tip off by a "known source".

He said a nurse had called him about the five-year-old's request to see Santa Claus, and that there was no time for him to change into his full costume. At the hospital, he gave the boy a toy and told him right before he died: "When you get there, you tell them you're Santa's No. 1 elf and I know they'll let you in."

After the incident, he was so affected he said he thought he would never be able to play the role of Santa again.

The Knoxville News Sentinel said that the 60-year-old wanted to protect the identities of the child's family and the nurse who called him. In follow-up interviews and video recordings by local and national television outlets, the 1.8m tall and 141kg Mr Schmitt-Matzen, president of Packing Seals & Engineering in Jacksboro, Tennessee, has stood by his account.

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The note has been met with mixed views on the newspaper's Facebook post.

Some believed in the legitimacy of the story, and gave Mr Schmitt-Matzen the benefit of the doubt. Facebook user Lynn Taylor Morgan commented: "I am disgusted. The family shouldn't have to come forward to verify this story. It's true. Period."

However, there were also those who were wary, especially given the spread of fake news on the internet. Facebook user Jean Ash said: "I would hope the purported Santa or child's family would come forth. Otherwise, we must acknowledge a possible hoax. What a shame."

 

TOPICS: 

• CHRISTMAS
• CHILDREN AND YOUTH

 

[Victor68]

true or fake also depends on how we want to receive the news.

 

why so uptight over it if you can digest and make it works for you?

[Showster]

Nah not uptight.

 

But lots of "news" turn out to be fake.

 

It's better to differentiate between stories and real occurrences so we know how to sort them internally?

 

true or fake also depends on how we want to receive the news.

why so uptight over it if you can digest and make it works for you?

 

[Victor68]

the unfortunate thing with human is, sometimes people choose not to rationalise but blindly accept it. we cannot change them as long as thry dont harm others.

[Lala81]

The "truth"? How about 70% are sheep and the other 30% are enlightened?

[Showster]

It's true that news oftentimes choose to focus on one side only. So real news may fake a particular impression meant to "guide" the majority.

 

But it's important at a personal level to discern what are the intentions behind. 

 

90% of people I know are really nice, but its the 10% that make or create the news, write the news, or even fake the news. And if you have an app that can verify that for you, wow, you are in business!

 

Never underestimate any possibility.

 

 

Facebook to roll out new tools to tackle fake news

Facebook logos pictured on the screens of a smartphone (right), and a laptop computer, in central London.PHOTO: AFP

PUBLISHED

9 HOURS AGO

UPDATED

4 HOURS AGO

FACEBOOK54TWITTEREMAIL

 

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Facebook Inc said on Thursday (Dec 15) it will introduce tools to prevent fake news stories from spreading on its platform, an about-face in response to rising criticism that it did not do enough to combat the problem during the US presidential campaign.

The social network company stressed that the new features are part of an ongoing process to refine and test how it deals with fake news. It has faced complaints this year involving how it monitors and polices content produced by its 1.8 billion users.  

Facebook said users will find it easier to flag fake articles on their News Feed as a hoax, and it will work with organisations such as fact-checking website Snopes, ABC News and the Associated Press to check the authenticity of stories. 

If such organizations identify a story as fake, Facebook said, it will get flagged as “disputed” and be linked to the corresponding article explaining why. 

The company said disputed stories may appear lower in its news feed, adding that once a story is flagged, it cannot be promoted. 

 

 

A few weeks ago, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said it was a “crazy idea” that fake or misleading news on
Facebook helped swing the election in favour of Republican Donald Trump.

But criticism persisted amid reports that people in the United States and other countries have fabricated sensational hoaxes meant to appeal to conservatives.  Critics said fake news often was more widely read than news reported by major media organisations. 

Ahead of the Nov 8 election, Facebook users saw fake news reports saying Pope Francis endorsed Trump and that a federal agent who had been investigating Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was found dead. 

The effort by Facebook is intended to focus on the “worst of the worst” of clear hoaxes created by “spammers for their own gain,” Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s vice-president in charge of its News Feed, said in a blog post. 

Some far-right conservative writers quickly pounced on the announcement, decrying it as a covert attempt to muzzle their legitimate content.

“Translation: A group of incredibly biased left-wing fake news outlets will bury dissenting opinions,” Paul Joseph Watson, editor-at-large of the far-right website Infowars, which routinely peddles unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, said on Twitter.  

Facebook has struggled throughout the year to mollify conservatives who fear the company may be censoring them.

The company fired contractors who managed the site’s trending news sidebar after a report by Gizmodo in May quoted an anonymous employee claiming the site routinely suppressed conservative news.  On Thursday, Joel Kaplan,
Facebook’s vice president for US public policy met with President-elect Trump at his Manhattan tower.

 

 

[Tonyng]

Fake news may do some harm. 

 

But it is real news but that is incomplete but reads like complete real news that is the most harmful. 

 

It is much more tiring to guess at what is not said, not written.