Meta to end Fact Checking on Facebook.
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How Teens In The Balkans Are Duping Trump Supporters With Fake News
BuzzFeed News identified more than 100 pro-Trump websites being run from a single town in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
www.buzzfeednews.com
How Teens In The Balkans Are Duping Trump Supporters With Fake News
BuzzFeed News identified more than 100 pro-Trump websites being run from a single town in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Craig Silverman
BuzzFeed Founding Editor, Canada
Lawrence Alexander
BuzzFeed Contributor
Posted on November 3, 2016 at 7:02 pm
Getty Images / BuzzFeed News
"This is the news of the millennium!" said the story on WorldPoliticus.com. Citing unnamed FBI sources, it claimed Hillary Clinton will be indicted in 2017 for crimes related to her email scandal.
"Your Prayers Have Been Answered," declared the headline.
For Trump supporters, that certainly seemed to be the case. They helped the baseless story generate over 140,000 shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook.
Meanwhile, roughly 6,000 miles away in a small town in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a young man watched as money began trickling into his Google AdSense account.
Over the past year, the Macedonian town of Veles (population 45,000) has experienced a digital gold rush as locals launched at least 140 US politics websites. These sites have American-sounding domain names such as WorldPoliticus.com, TrumpVision365.com, USConservativeToday.com, DonaldTrumpNews.co, and USADailyPolitics.com. They almost all publish aggressively pro-Trump content aimed at conservatives and Trump supporters in the US.
The young Macedonians who run these sites say they don't care about Donald Trump. They are responding to straightforward economic incentives: As Facebook regularly reveals in earnings reports, a US Facebook user is worth about four times a user outside the US. The fraction-of-a-penny-per-click of US display advertising — a declining market for American publishers — goes a long way in Veles. Several teens and young men who run these sites told BuzzFeed News that they learned the best way to generate traffic is to get their politics stories to spread on Facebook — and the best way to generate shares on Facebook is to publish sensationalist and often false content that caters to Trump supporters.
As a result, this strange hub of pro-Trump sites in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is now playing a significant role in propagating the kind of false and misleading content that was identified in a recent BuzzFeed News analysis of hyperpartisan Facebook pages. These sites open a window into the economic incentives behind producing misinformation specifically for the wealthiest advertising markets and specifically for Facebook, the world's largest social network, as well as within online advertising networks such as Google AdSense.
"Yes, the info in the blogs is bad, false, and misleading but the rationale is that 'if it gets the people to click on it and engage, then use it,'" said a university student in Veles who started a US politics site, and who agreed to speak on the condition that BuzzFeed News not use his name.
Sample stories from US politics sites run by Macedonians.
Using domain name registration records and online searches, BuzzFeed News identified over 100 active US politics websites being run from Veles. The largest of these sites have Facebook pages that boast hundreds of thousands of followers.
BuzzFeed News also identified another 40 US politics domains registered by people in Veles that are no longer active. (An April report from the Macedonian website Meta.mk identified six pro-Trump sites being run from Veles. A Guardian report identified 150 politics sites.)
Their reasons for launching these sites are purely financial, according to the Macedonians with whom BuzzFeed News spoke.
"I started the site for a easy way to make money," said a 17-year-old who runs a site with four other people. "In Macedonia the economy is very weak and teenagers are not allowed to work, so we need to find creative ways to make some money. I'm a musician but I can't afford music gear. Here in Macedonia the revenue from a small site is enough to afford many things."
Most of the posts on these sites are aggregated, or completely plagiarized, from fringe and right-wing sites in the US. The Macedonians see a story elsewhere, write a sensationalized headline, and quickly post it to their site. Then they share it on Facebook to try and generate traffic. The more people who click through from Facebook, the more money they earn from ads on their website.
Earlier in the year, some in Veles experimented with left-leaning or pro–Bernie Sanders content, but nothing performed as well on Facebook as Trump content.
"People in America prefer to read news about Trump," said a Macedonian 16-year-old who operates BVANews.com.
BuzzFeed News' research also found that the most successful stories from these sites were nearly all false or misleading.
For example, the most successful post BuzzFeed News found from a Macedonian site is based on a story from a fake news website. The headline on the story from ConservativeState.com was "Hillary Clinton In 2013: 'I Would Like To See People Like Donald Trump Run For Office; They’re Honest And Can’t Be Bought.'" The post is a week old and has racked up an astounding 480,000 shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook. (To put that into perspective, the New York Times' exclusive story that revealed Donald Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns generated a little more than 175,000 Facebook interactions in a month.)
The viral Clinton story was sourced from TheRightists.com, a site that admits it publishes both real and fake content. According to emails released by WikiLeaks, Clinton said in a private speech to Goldman Sachs that she would like to see more successful business people enter politics. But she did not mention Donald Trump in any way. The quote used in the headline is false.
The Rightists
The original hoax from The Rightists.
Four of the five most successful posts from the Macedonian sites BuzzFeed News identified are false. They include the false claim that the pope endorsed Trump, and the false claim that Mike Pence said Michelle Obama is the "most vulgar first lady we've ever had." Those four posts together generated more than 1 million shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook. That resulted in huge traffic and significant ad revenue for the owners of these sites, with many people being misinformed along the way.
The Macedonians BuzzFeed News spoke to said the explosion in pro-Trump sites in Veles means the market has now become crowded, making it harder to earn money. The people who launched their sites early in 2016 are making the most money, according to the university student. He said a friend of his earns $5,000 per month, "or even $3,000 per day" when he gets a hit on Facebook.
The 16-year-old who operates BVANews.com with a partner said he also runs health websites in addition to the US politics site. They launched the site in early 2016 and it's now averaging 1 million page views a month, said his partner. (The teens declined to share revenue figures.)
The 17-year-old and his three partners are still waiting for Google's AdSense program to approve their site for ads. As of now, they're only generating about 800 views a day and aren't earning any revenue. The university student launched his site in August and stopped updating it in order to focus on another, more successful site he has that's focused on health and well-being. He estimated there are "thousands" of health-related sites being run out of Veles. US politics is just this year's opportunity, thanks to a combination of Trump and Facebook.
"I stopped because I didn't really enjoy doing it and we didn't actually make any money from it since there are so many people posting already," the university student said. "The people who started early are the ones reaping the rewards."
BVA News / Via bvanews.com
Aside from the allure of easy money, they also have an element of pride that web-savvy people — including teenagers — in a small country like Macedonia can earn money by gaming Facebook, Google, and Americans.
"A good chunk of the world thinks Macedonia is primitive, but that is not true," the 17-year-old said.
The young men running these sites know the Trump traffic bonanza will soon come to an end. They expect traffic and revenue to decline significantly once the election is over. But they also hold out hope that a Trump win will keep their sites afloat.
"If Trump loses I plan to redirect my site to sports," the 16-year-old's partner said. "It means that there will be no more politics [worth covering]."
This is extremely dangerous...
TELL ME YA CHEESIN FAM?
I walk around a little edgy already
I haven't logged into Facebook for almost a decade
fukk is a fact checker?
fukk is a fact checker?
This is what happens when you abandon black men. The greatest influencers of culture in the known free world. All black men had to do was whisper "MAGA" and call out Democrats for their disloyalty. The ivory tower came crumbling down In a hurry. Will the Dems and white liberals smarten up? And it's all love to my sisters,but are you ready to step aside and allow your men to political guru our way out of this mess
?
Pull Up the Roots
Veteran
This is nonsense.This is what happens when you abandon black men. The greatest influencers of culture in the known free world. All black men had to do was whisper "MAGA" and call out Democrats for their disloyalty. The ivory tower came crumbling down In a hurry. Will the Dems and white liberals smarten up? And it's all love to my sisters,but are you ready to step aside and allow your men to political guru our way out of this mess
Brazil says Meta hate speech policy changes do not fit with local law
By Reuters
January 14, 2025 12:58 PM EST
Updated a day ago
The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
, opens new tab
- Summary
- Companies
- Solicitor general criticizes Meta's hate speech policy changes
- Meta says aiming to secure greater freedom of expression
- Brazil to hold public hearing this week to discuss issue
BRASILIA, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Brazil's government said on Tuesday it is "seriously concerned" about Meta Platforms' (META.O)
, opens new tab recently announced changes to its hate speech policy, adding that it believes they do not comply with the country's legislation.
Facebook owner Meta last week reduced curbs on discussions around contentious topics such as immigration and gender identity, while also scrapping its fact-checking program in the United States.
The Brazilian government ordered the social media company, which also owns Instagram and Threads, to explain its plans, which President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had previously labeled "extremely serious."
Brazil is a top market for Meta, where government data show Facebook alone has about 100 million active users. Social media platform X was temporarily suspended in the country last year for not complying with local law.
The government did not immediately clarify which aspects of Meta's policy might be illegal, but said the latest changes "could represent fertile ground for the violation of laws that protect fundamental rights of Brazilian citizens."
Local legislation forbids some forms of hate speech, such as racial slurs and remarks that attack people for their religion.
Meta in a letter to the South American country reiterated that changes to the fact-checking program for now would only apply to the U.S., and said that changes to its community standards were "limited" to the hate speech policy.
The move, the company added in the document shared by Brazil's government, was aimed at securing greater freedom of expression.
The office of Brazil's solicitor general (AGU) in a statement criticized Meta, saying that "some aspects" of the letter caused the government "serious concern." It highlighted the changes to the hate speech policy, which apply to Brazil.
"AGU and other ministries understand that the current terms of use, as well as the changes now informed by Meta, do not fit with Brazil's legislation and are not sufficient to protect fundamental rights," it added.
Brazil will hold a public hearing later this week to discuss the topic with experts.
The country's Supreme Court last year suspended X's local operations for more than a month over the social media platform's failure to comply with court orders, including some related to moderation of hate speech.
X owner and billionaire Elon Musk at the time denounced Justice Alexandre de Moraes' orders as censorship, but X later complied with the court demands, including blocking some accounts, in order to resume its service in Brazil.
Casey Newton (@caseynewton.bsky.social)
NEW: Meta has quietly dismantled the system that prevented misinformation from spreading in the United States. Machine-learning classifiers that once identified viral hoaxes and limited their reach have now been switched off, Platformer has learned...
bsky.app
1/40
Casey Newton
NEW: Meta has quietly dismantled the system that prevented misinformation from spreading in the United States. Machine-learning classifiers that once identified viral hoaxes and limited their reach have now been switched off, Platformer has learned Meta just flipped the switch that prevents misinformation from spreading in the United States
2/40
elrod1.bsky.social @elrod1.bsky.social
Pretty simple, stay away from Facebook, and all the other APPs under his umbrella.
3/40
Suzanne LaBounty @suzanne137.bsky.social
Stay away from the rich folks who are dismantling our country. Don’t give them your support or money.
4/40
arlen-kundert.bsky.social @arlen-kundert.bsky.social
Fine, then ABSOLUTELY **FLOOD** Facebook with so much nonsense that of bots talking to each other that even conspiracy theorists will roll their eyes
5/40
Christa @begeisvalkryie.bsky.social
Time to leave all meta for platforms and X behind. Stop supporting those who profit in our societal demise to fill their wallets. Don't forget to buy your shorts
6/40
SumpinWitty @titaniumbird.bsky.social
Isn’t there risk of consolidating everyone into one echo chamber where it’s disinformation rules? Who gets to rule what’s real and what’s disinformation? It’s a slippery slope.
7/40
Susan @oceangirl.bsky.social
Delete Facebook. Delete them all
8/40
Stacy Cashmore @stacy-clouds.net
I really want to, but there are people I know in different countries that i only communicate with on there. I have removed it from my home screen though, and will only open it occasionally to check on them.
I wish I could convince others to leave as well...
9/40
Leon @leonmallett.bsky.social
Ask them for their email address. I did this recently with a few people before I killed off my Instagram account where I had some people in DMs but nowhere else
10/40
winhof22.bsky.social @winhof22.bsky.social
Trump wants to control all the fact checking. All he does is lie and now Meta will not be fact checking. For all the idiot that get all their “news” from Facebook.
11/40
JennX @overlookedjennx.bsky.social
It’s not “quiet”, Zuckerberg quite literally announced on the platforms he owns that he was doing this. There’s now supposed to be “community notes” like on Xitter instead of fact-checking internally.
That’s why there’s been a new influx of users here, this time coming from Threads.
12/40
Lioncub @lioncub19.bsky.social
Better learn to think critically, real quick.
13/40
pause-for-thought.bsky.social @pause-for-thought.bsky.social
Hmm a nation of religion, that has been taught to follow blindly, chant an alliance and salute a flag each morning.... Good luck with that!
14/40
Crescent Perle @yemaya11.bsky.social
FB has been the biggest source of misinformation, until X replaced Tweeter.
MZ is just trying to keep up with the Musk rat.
15/40
politicalgrandma.bsky.social @politicalgrandma.bsky.social
His level of morality fits right in with MAGA.
16/40
cybexg.bsky.social @cybexg.bsky.social
When open, fair, factual and reasoned discourse is no longer possible, all that remains is violence.
On a daily basis, I seem to have a greater understanding of Luigi's actions (understanding, NOTHING more).
17/40
Slappy Squirrel @slappysquirrel2000.bsky.social
Fukerberg got paid a lot of rubles
18/40
Martin Nedwed @martinnedwed.bsky.social
In Wahrheit sind es aber bloß vierzig Silberlinge. Ihn erwartet ein schreckliches Schicksal.
19/40
Jeff Davenport @jeffreyhdavenport.bsky.social
So, AI good, unless it protects people, then bad.
20/40
drsarahdds.bsky.social @drsarahdds.bsky.social
This is why I’m on Bluesky. I hope more people with integrity leave Meta platforms, close their Prime accounts and do what they can to fight this nonsense
21/40
Maralyn Maralyn @maralynmaralyn.bsky.social
I closed my prime account in December. On January 20, I will close my Facebook and Instagram account.
22/40
Paul @paul-reiswig.bsky.social
I’m sure all this is going to be great for our country…
23/40
amuszementpark.bsky.social @amuszementpark.bsky.social
You'll just have to put on your big boy pants, research and think for yourself now. It really will be OK.
24/40
jkdanthonyian10.bsky.social @jkdanthonyian10.bsky.social
Yup. Because Zuck is pro-Nazi.
And he's Jewish. Go figure.
But people like him always think they'll be spared.
25/40
t_shirtnshorts @t-shirtnshorts.bsky.social
soundsbymojo on TikTok
Purging Meta? Listen up!
26/40
fullmooneyes10.bsky.social @fullmooneyes10.bsky.social
Brilliant! And done!
27/40
KumarSP @kumarsp.bsky.social
Read the news that Meta is planning to let go employees with performance issue. I think it should start with Suckerberg. No...it's not a typo.
28/40
krazyjay.bsky.social @krazyjay.bsky.social
It’s not performance issues it will be “if you don’t follow the new anti human BS”. Zuck is a scared cuck for trump
29/40
whodat70.bsky.social @whodat70.bsky.social
Translation: stuff I don't agree with is back online. FTFY
30/40
Cindy RHIT @samlau53.bsky.social
I use it to keep in touch with family and friends still but my SIL had her account hacked and they added one post and that was it and it was impossible to report because reporting scam or false info literally does nothing. I've reported threatening posts, death threats against friends and crickets
31/40
Graham Jones @oldmanrambling.bsky.social
Oh, brave new world that has such liars in it.
32/40
Veton @veton-krasniqi.bsky.social
Please have some respect for the deceased..... It's really sad to see how many people are capitulating to the orange clown.... #factcheck #denydefenddepose
33/40
bang-tnt.bsky.social @bang-tnt.bsky.social
Mark and Elon Musk are like two siblings fighting for the attention of their orange daddy.
34/40
thatzimguy.bsky.social @thatzimguy.bsky.social
He is afraid that Trump will hit him with an anti-trust lawsuit
35/40
Richard @radman26.bsky.social
Checking your own sources is the first thing I teach my children about using the internet and devices.
36/40
AG
@agiexoxo.bsky.social
It’s a huge development—Meta turning off those machine-learning classifiers means misinformation could spread more easily again. This move raises concerns about the platform's role in managing harmful content, especially as misinformation continues to have real-world impacts.
37/40
xxdiatomxx.bsky.social @xxdiatomxx.bsky.social
Facebook has many ML classifiers for content moderation. They didn’t remove them all.
38/40
Dean @bigbandman1.bsky.social
Fucherman of course he did.
39/40
Wayne Metcalf @waynemetcalf.bsky.social
That's so that the new US government can run their influence and misinformation campaigns on Europe to influence our elections and insert their far-right leaders over here and ensure that we buy all of our gas from their new kingdom of Greenland.
Sound about right?
40/40
Die Jacke
@diejacke.bsky.social
But our far right wants to buy gas from Russia.
To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196
Casey Newton
NEW: Meta has quietly dismantled the system that prevented misinformation from spreading in the United States. Machine-learning classifiers that once identified viral hoaxes and limited their reach have now been switched off, Platformer has learned Meta just flipped the switch that prevents misinformation from spreading in the United States
2/40
elrod1.bsky.social @elrod1.bsky.social
Pretty simple, stay away from Facebook, and all the other APPs under his umbrella.
3/40
Suzanne LaBounty @suzanne137.bsky.social
Stay away from the rich folks who are dismantling our country. Don’t give them your support or money.
4/40
arlen-kundert.bsky.social @arlen-kundert.bsky.social
Fine, then ABSOLUTELY **FLOOD** Facebook with so much nonsense that of bots talking to each other that even conspiracy theorists will roll their eyes
5/40
Christa @begeisvalkryie.bsky.social
Time to leave all meta for platforms and X behind. Stop supporting those who profit in our societal demise to fill their wallets. Don't forget to buy your shorts
6/40
SumpinWitty @titaniumbird.bsky.social
Isn’t there risk of consolidating everyone into one echo chamber where it’s disinformation rules? Who gets to rule what’s real and what’s disinformation? It’s a slippery slope.
7/40
Susan @oceangirl.bsky.social
Delete Facebook. Delete them all
8/40
Stacy Cashmore @stacy-clouds.net
I really want to, but there are people I know in different countries that i only communicate with on there. I have removed it from my home screen though, and will only open it occasionally to check on them.
I wish I could convince others to leave as well...
9/40
Leon @leonmallett.bsky.social
Ask them for their email address. I did this recently with a few people before I killed off my Instagram account where I had some people in DMs but nowhere else
10/40
winhof22.bsky.social @winhof22.bsky.social
Trump wants to control all the fact checking. All he does is lie and now Meta will not be fact checking. For all the idiot that get all their “news” from Facebook.
11/40
JennX @overlookedjennx.bsky.social
It’s not “quiet”, Zuckerberg quite literally announced on the platforms he owns that he was doing this. There’s now supposed to be “community notes” like on Xitter instead of fact-checking internally.
That’s why there’s been a new influx of users here, this time coming from Threads.
12/40
Lioncub @lioncub19.bsky.social
Better learn to think critically, real quick.
13/40
pause-for-thought.bsky.social @pause-for-thought.bsky.social
Hmm a nation of religion, that has been taught to follow blindly, chant an alliance and salute a flag each morning.... Good luck with that!
14/40
Crescent Perle @yemaya11.bsky.social
FB has been the biggest source of misinformation, until X replaced Tweeter.
MZ is just trying to keep up with the Musk rat.
15/40
politicalgrandma.bsky.social @politicalgrandma.bsky.social
His level of morality fits right in with MAGA.
16/40
cybexg.bsky.social @cybexg.bsky.social
When open, fair, factual and reasoned discourse is no longer possible, all that remains is violence.
On a daily basis, I seem to have a greater understanding of Luigi's actions (understanding, NOTHING more).
17/40
Slappy Squirrel @slappysquirrel2000.bsky.social
Fukerberg got paid a lot of rubles
18/40
Martin Nedwed @martinnedwed.bsky.social
In Wahrheit sind es aber bloß vierzig Silberlinge. Ihn erwartet ein schreckliches Schicksal.
19/40
Jeff Davenport @jeffreyhdavenport.bsky.social
So, AI good, unless it protects people, then bad.
20/40
drsarahdds.bsky.social @drsarahdds.bsky.social
This is why I’m on Bluesky. I hope more people with integrity leave Meta platforms, close their Prime accounts and do what they can to fight this nonsense
21/40
Maralyn Maralyn @maralynmaralyn.bsky.social
I closed my prime account in December. On January 20, I will close my Facebook and Instagram account.
22/40
Paul @paul-reiswig.bsky.social
I’m sure all this is going to be great for our country…
23/40
amuszementpark.bsky.social @amuszementpark.bsky.social
You'll just have to put on your big boy pants, research and think for yourself now. It really will be OK.
24/40
jkdanthonyian10.bsky.social @jkdanthonyian10.bsky.social
Yup. Because Zuck is pro-Nazi.
And he's Jewish. Go figure.
But people like him always think they'll be spared.
25/40
t_shirtnshorts @t-shirtnshorts.bsky.social
soundsbymojo on TikTok
Purging Meta? Listen up!
26/40
fullmooneyes10.bsky.social @fullmooneyes10.bsky.social
Brilliant! And done!
27/40
KumarSP @kumarsp.bsky.social
Read the news that Meta is planning to let go employees with performance issue. I think it should start with Suckerberg. No...it's not a typo.
28/40
krazyjay.bsky.social @krazyjay.bsky.social
It’s not performance issues it will be “if you don’t follow the new anti human BS”. Zuck is a scared cuck for trump
29/40
whodat70.bsky.social @whodat70.bsky.social
Translation: stuff I don't agree with is back online. FTFY
30/40
Cindy RHIT @samlau53.bsky.social
I use it to keep in touch with family and friends still but my SIL had her account hacked and they added one post and that was it and it was impossible to report because reporting scam or false info literally does nothing. I've reported threatening posts, death threats against friends and crickets
31/40
Graham Jones @oldmanrambling.bsky.social
Oh, brave new world that has such liars in it.
32/40
Veton @veton-krasniqi.bsky.social
Please have some respect for the deceased..... It's really sad to see how many people are capitulating to the orange clown.... #factcheck #denydefenddepose
33/40
bang-tnt.bsky.social @bang-tnt.bsky.social
Mark and Elon Musk are like two siblings fighting for the attention of their orange daddy.
34/40
thatzimguy.bsky.social @thatzimguy.bsky.social
He is afraid that Trump will hit him with an anti-trust lawsuit
35/40
Richard @radman26.bsky.social
Checking your own sources is the first thing I teach my children about using the internet and devices.
36/40
AG
@agiexoxo.bsky.socialIt’s a huge development—Meta turning off those machine-learning classifiers means misinformation could spread more easily again. This move raises concerns about the platform's role in managing harmful content, especially as misinformation continues to have real-world impacts.
37/40
xxdiatomxx.bsky.social @xxdiatomxx.bsky.social
Facebook has many ML classifiers for content moderation. They didn’t remove them all.
38/40
Dean @bigbandman1.bsky.social
Fucherman of course he did.
39/40
Wayne Metcalf @waynemetcalf.bsky.social
That's so that the new US government can run their influence and misinformation campaigns on Europe to influence our elections and insert their far-right leaders over here and ensure that we buy all of our gas from their new kingdom of Greenland.
Sound about right?
40/40
Die Jacke
@diejacke.bsky.socialBut our far right wants to buy gas from Russia.
To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196
Coulda woulda shoulda
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