Fake News study from NPR

In the 2016 election cycle, the circulation of 'fake news' on social media sites garnered the attention of nearly every major news outlet and continues to do so. Uproar over the results of the election were only worsened by the implication that Donald Trump's election into office was helped tremendously by negative articles about his opponent, Hillary Clinton, as well positive articles about Trump. Make no doubt, fake news was definitely circulated online and was largely pro-Trump; However, that does not mean that the election was 'rigged' as many claim. A recent inquiry into this issue by National Public Radio(NPR) revealed that the top 20 'fake' news stories had over 1 million more (8.7 million vs. 7.3 million) engagements than did the top 20 hard (true) news stories. However, "Only an estimated 10 percent of Americans account for nearly 60 percent of visits to fake news sites" and this 10 percent is people who were already mainly conservative.(NPR) The article goes on to conclude that people on the extreme liberal side are just as likely to be influenced by views that align with their own beliefs as extreme conservatives. This is the most troubling aspect of all of this: people are so eager to hear what they want to hear, that they will discard any process of critical thinking.