How's the forum doing? Check-up.

[StCapps]

Leave me out of your weird submission fantasies unless you are really Ronda Rousey.

I smash you next, unless chicken run.

[Hanarchy Montanarchy]

It was a meme from day 1. There literally is a conspiracy between media outlets and many papers ran coordinated stories with the term "fake news" on the same day.

Trump jiu jitsu'd the meme and turned it against them.

That is a way to interpret what happened.

What's the other way?

I should think there are a lot of ways to interpret the situation. If you are asking what I personally think is more plausible, then I would say that 'conspiracy' is a heady term.

Major media outlets often use the same original source material if they aren't doing investigative reporting... like AP or Reuters. I would expect that a cursory report on "Fake News" (and by that I mean an intentionally fabricated, and verifiably false story presented with the branding of a major media network) came out and was picked up by multiple media outlets at the same time.

Since journalists take their credibility seriously, and news companies take their branding and formatting very seriously, this story would really catch fire with them. It would also resonate with anyone who had been tricked by a "Fake News" (again, in the very specific sense outlined above) story, since it is embarrassing to be duped, so reports on "Fake News" would start spreading quickly. This might look like a concerted effort to push a partisan narrative without actually being one.

Things that happen at the same time are not necessarily 'coordinated.'

[SuburbanFarmer]

I'm wondering why they didn't tee off on Fox News all these years for fake news BS.

Maybe this is the price to be paid for just not taking them seriously for a decade.

[Hwen Hoshino]

I'm wondering why they didn't tee off on Fox News all these years for fake news BS.

Maybe this is the price to be paid for just not taking them seriously for a decade.

Because they are also full of shit.

[TheReal_ND]

That is a way to interpret what happened.

What's the other way?

I should think there are a lot of ways to interpret the situation. If you are asking what I personally think is more plausible, then I would say that 'conspiracy' is a heady term.

Major media outlets often use the same original source material if they aren't doing investigative reporting... like AP or Reuters. I would expect that a cursory report on "Fake News" (and by that I mean an intentionally fabricated, and verifiably false story presented with the branding of a major media network) came out and was picked up by multiple media outlets at the same time.

Since journalists take their credibility seriously, and news companies take their branding and formatting very seriously, this story would really catch fire with them. It would also resonate with anyone who had been tricked by a "Fake News" (again, in the very specific sense outlined above) story, since it is embarrassing to be duped, so reports on "Fake News" would start spreading quickly. This might look like a concerted effort to push a partisan narrative without actually being one.

Things that happen at the same time are not necessarily 'coordinated.'

So while you admit there is coordination it's only because they are unoriginal. Got it.

[Hanarchy Montanarchy]

Things that happen at the same time are not necessarily 'coordinated.'

So while you admit there is coordination it's only because they are unoriginal. Got it.

Things that happen at the same time are not necessarily 'coordinated.'

I don't 'admit' that... or even think it is likely.

Unoriginal? Absolutely a valid criticism.

I know, I know, it must seem silly to a plugged-in, hip, meme-slinging cyber-kid such as yourself, but some of us boring fuddy-duddies still think of horses when we hear hoof-beats.

[Xenophon]

So I was in the shower last night, thinking about what to do to attract new members, and all I could come up with is to either try and drag some people from other online communities we frequent, or go the harder route, and make our own podcast.

It could serve as a way to gather members to the forums, if we were to gather a small audience. I'm reticent to put Hash's name on anything that could turn out to be a flaming trash fire, though. We'd have to name it something different than "The Martin Hash Forumcast" or something.

[Speaker to Animals]

Things that happen at the same time are not necessarily 'coordinated.'

So while you admit there is coordination it's only because they are unoriginal. Got it.

Things that happen at the same time are not necessarily 'coordinated.'

I don't 'admit' that... or even think it is likely.

Unoriginal? Absolutely a valid criticism.

I know, I know, it must seem silly to a plugged-in, hip, meme-slinging cyber-kid such as yourself, but some of us boring fuddy-duddies still think of horses when we hear hoof-beats.

Yeah, they could all just magically use the same political phrases on the same day without coordinating. That's possible..

[Hanarchy Montanarchy]

If you would read a few posts back you would see that it 1. Doesn't require all that much magic, and 2. Is simply another plausible explanation.

I don't know from truth, but I am skeptical of all conspiracy theories.

[Martin Hash]

I don't know from truth, but I am skeptical of all conspiracy theories.

Hear, hear!