"dewey defeats truman and then feasts on the flesh of paul horner." but actually, we made those up, full discloser. and i kind of wish more news was fake right now. >> jon: oh, yeah. >> stephen: yeah. i don't like some of the real headlines i'm seeing, like this one, "more than 400 incidents of hateful harassment and intimidation since the election. for instance, indiana, where an episcopal church was vandalized with a swastika and the words 'heil trump'." i cannot believe this. i mean, it's 2016. longer before putting up the 2020 campaign signs ( cheers and applause ) it's even infecting fashion, because this week a neo-nazi blogger declared new balance the "official shoes of white people." utill now, they were the unofficial shoes of white people. the "fascist write: "this will be fantastic. we will be able to recognize one another by our sportswear." finally, a way for nazis to recognize each other, because the swastika neck tattoo was a little subtle. this all started-- yay! neck tattoo. this all started after new balance supported the election of

so why doesn't paul horner?ees his work as a bit of a political statement or provocation. he thinks he's making some greater statement about media literacy or online media literacy in the country. he thinks he's making a statement about how informed or maybe uninformed voters are. he sees it as almost some kind of meta performance piece. arguably he's been effective in that. maybe too effective. >> yeah, because i don't know if it came from paul horner, but general mike flynn, the man that trump wants to name as his national security adviser, this tweet remains on his twitter account today. let's put it on the screen so we can take a look. this is his tweet. it came from something called true pundit.com. you decide, nypd blows whistle on new hillary e-mails, money laundering, sex crimes with children, et cetera, must read. so you look at that and think come on, you know that's false, but it is on flynn's twitter account to this day. >> well, that's part of the problem. this is what i thought was fascinating abou

it started out in the mind of this guy, paul horner.few years, he's actually made a living off of viral news hoaxes. and that fake news went out to lewandowski's thousands of followers. he later deleted the tweet, but seven months later, donald's son eric tweeted out the exact same fake story. eric, too, ultimately deleted it, but not before his hundreds of thousands of followers could see it and maybe take it for fact, let alone who took the link and reposted it on their own facebook feed. i'm joined now by two reporters trying to unravel this fake news situation, kate dewey and shera frankel. she's been following facebook's response to this fake news item. katelyn, i'll start with you. he makes his living doing it. explain his job. >> it's a really fascinating business model. essentially it works similar to how any media site makes money on line in that he runs display advertising, which he buys through the google ads on his program. he then hopes that many people will read his stories, and he guarantees that by making up outlandish t

horner claims about $10,000 a month. his career may be announced they will begin to prohibit ad sales from sites pushing out fake news. >> the real problem is with the fake news and what paul has been so successful in exploiting is this idea of confirmation bias. and you know, that people want to read and share news that conforms with beliefs, that they already have. >> christa: experts say some of the ways to tell whether or beyonding the headlines. google other sources to see if other outlets are reporting the same story. >> christa: more news today. a federal inspectsor has found now that that barrier in the gorilla exhibit was not up to current standards. this is the same enclosure that sparked a frantic rescue mission when this young boy jumped down inside the gorilla exhibit. it ened with that gorilla being killed. the zoo has since redesigned the older inefficient fence. >> christa: still ahead on 7: another honor for the man who inspired the ice bucket challenge. the award he will be getting from the ncaa. >> kri

then he said, you know, well, i'm going to go one step furthe. >> reporter: while horner said he hates trump and was messing with the campaign he said with every click did be-his luke raytive career may be slowing down. real problem is offer zig-zagging membership for $79. that's for a year membership. new members can look forward to other perks including free two day shipping and access to shows and movies. >> anchor: ahead on 7 news as 4:30, classroom chaos when a samsung phone goes up in flames that room full of students. >> anchor: a snowstorm out west doing damage and causing car wrecks across colorado. >> anchor: a police chase in pembroke has a smashing end. one man now facing a judge. >> anchor: and brady speak famous foot locker ad. what he had to say about having the opportunity to poke fun at deflategate. >> anchor: we continue to follow break zig-zagging news, patriots confirming rob gronkowski will miss this ? at blue cross blue shield of massachusetts, we offer a variety of medicare plans to fit your budget and your lifestyle. with plans starting as low as $0, ave zero th

. >> a man behind some of those fake headlines spoke with the washington post. 38-year-old paul horner took his stories and thinks they may have helped trump get elected. he said they were fabricated, not fact checked. he made about $10,000 a month on the fake stories. facebook and google have recently announcedhe to prohibit ad sales from sites pushing out fake news. for now, best to stick with credible sources. we're at 9 news here for you so -- people still have plenty to say. we figured we'd give them a platform. it's a special edition of next with kyle clark. there is one based on recurring segment called "let's just talk" trump supporters, hillary voted for gary johnson and jill stein too. they'll join kyle tonight to have a civil conversation at 6:00. right here on channel 9. >>> as becky ditchfield said, it's going to warm up for our weekend. just how warm will it get? her full forecast is coming up next at 11:00. >>> whether you're short on space or not, a vertical garden can be awesome for your yard. though it's chilly. today will be one of the colder days before we get to th

in an interview with the washington post, paul horner, a major player in the fake fews industry said, quote, i think trump's in the white house because of me. followern' anything. they'll post anything, and believe anything,end quote. >> this could cut both says. >> it could. it was used effectively genet reason why trump's adversaries wouldn't use them down the road. it's a real casualty. >> jon keller, thank you so much. paula? >>> if you are already looking ahead to the 2020 election, don't expect to see hillary clinton's running mate. a reporter asked senator tim kaine if he wanted to seek the presidency. his answer? nope. > before black friday. the credit card making sure you get the best deal, and raising healthy kids and why the milk you buy could make a difference. and a local turkey farm devastated pie fire. who helped the owners rebuild just in time for thanksgiving? >>> nice to see sunshine after a gray start. the weather watchers network, mainly around 50 like this picture from larry at scituate. skies overhead. afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, fre

horner claims about $10,000 a month. slowing down after facebook and google announced they'll begin to prohibit ad sales from sites pushing out fake news. >> the real problem is with this fake news and what paul has been so successful in exploiting is this idea of confirmation bias that people want to read and share news that conforms with beliefs that they already have. >> reporter: so the next time you're browsing online, the best advice may be the oldest -- don't believe everything you read. >> there are a few ways to tell if you're reading a fake news story. you should read beyond the headline. experts say you should also check the url for spelling errors or too much extra letters. you should always google a story to see if there are more news outlets reporting the same facts. >> miguel almaguer, thank you. >>> an arizona police officers has been placed on administrative leave after video surfaced that shows him punching arrest. a cell phone camera recorded the confrontation in flagstaff on wednesday when the officer

it's run by a guy in arizona named paul horner, who considers himself i think a hoax artist. the crazy thing about this particular site is one of donald trump's kids and his campaign manager, kellyanne conway, both shared at least one story from this fake site during the campaign. >> reporter: he showed me some of his stories online. >> this is a made-up conversation. it's meant to be funny. the byline here is "max insider." >> reporter: separating fact mistrust of mainstream media is at an all-time high. >> when the president-elect will say the only reason hillary clinton has won the popular vote is because of millions voting illegally, which is completely not true, i think that gives license to folks to be loose with the truth and for people to make things up. >> reporter: when our social media feed, designed to mirror our own opinions, only confirming our biases. so when you give a customer what they want? >> they end up drowning in to the exclusion of anything else. >>> a mother reported an ducted and missing for weeks, found alive. the hunt for her captors. from leaving

. >> media company say a host of writers like paul horner is the mastermind behind his fake new frenzy. >> admitted to the "wall street journal" or the "washington post" he created the fake stories. >> experts say even though the info is false writers still aren't breaking the law. >> experts say you can fight back against all of this fake news out there. like it, fact check it, make sure the information is correct before you spread that fake news yourself. it would not be a good thing at all. live in menlo park, rick boon, nbc bay area news. >>> this is not how shoppers expect today spend their evening. two hours stuck in the parking garage. can you imagine. take a look at the photos. pure agony stuck here in the garage. this is from the mall. one driver told him it took about 90 minutes to get to the lower level of the garage. not to even get out. witnesses say all of the parking garages are jammed. another driver told us they talked to mall security but told this was somewhat typical during the holidays. two hours to exit. >> all of these are ticking off early this time around. >> n

now, i have a hard time believing any creator of any fake news website but one of them paul horner spoke and look at what he said, quote, i think trump is in the white house because of me. his campaign manager posted my story about a protesting getting paid $3500 as fact. i made that up. horner went on to say i thought they would fact check it and would make them look worse but trump supporters they just keep running with it. they never fact check anything. now, to be clear, fake news affects the left and the right. i've seen clinton supporters sharing fake links with election related conspiracy theories but the evidence indicates this is more of a problem on the right, among some, not all, but some trump supporters. further research is needed to understand why online lies are so appealing to some voters. but i would suggest to you that it starts at the top. after all, trump himself frequently misled voters during his campaign and he has been personally fooled by fictional stories. remember when he said all i know is what's on the internet? this was in march. after a protester rushed the

so then he said, you know, well, i'm going to go one step further. >> reporter: and while horner says he hates trump and thought he was messing with the campaign, he also says, with every click his fabricated stories made him money. horner claims about $10,000 a but his lucrative career may be slowing down after facebook and google announced they'll begin to prohibit ad sales from sites pushing out fake news. >> the real problem is with this fake news and what paul has been so successful in exploiting is this idea of confirmation bias that people want to read and share news that conforms with beliefs that they already have. >> reporter: so the next time you're browsing online, the best advice may be the oldest -- don't bee read. >> there are a few easy ways to tell if you're reading a fake news story. you should look beyond the headlines. check the url for spelling errors or check for extra letters and always google a story to see if there are more news outlets reporting the same facts. >> good advice, miguel, thank you. >>> an arizona police officer a woman in the face during an arre

. >> one of the most prolific writers of fake news is 38-year-old paul horner who thinks his news couldave helped donald trump get elected telling the washington post no one fact-checks anything any more zblx he started the story donald trump announced he would require muslims to wear badges and thought surely no one would think this story is true, it's absurd but in fact people share the it so he saidly go one step further. >> he says he hates trump and thought he was messing with the campaign, he also said with every click of his fab indicate the stories made him money about $10,000 a month. but his lucrative career may be slowing down after facebook and google announced they will begin to prohibit ad sales from sites pushing fake news. >> the real problem is with this fake news and what paul has been so successful in exploit something this idea of confirmation bias that people want to read and share news that conforms with belief that they are already have. >> so the next time you're browsing online the best advice may be the oldest, don't believe everything you read. >> thank you mi

guy behind the protester story is horner, boasted "i think donald trump is in the white house becausee." viral news hoaxes including fake news on facebook. fake news is proliferating. the truth is having, well, a much harder time keeping up. >>> donald trump will enter the white house with conflicts of >>> donald trump will enter the white house with conflicts of interest, unparalleled in the modern era, although since he never released his tax returns, we don't know just how bad those conflicts might be. but we know the president-elect runs a privately held sprawling business empires with businesses around the globe, creating the potential for trump to use the full force of the u.s. government to enrich himself and his family, or to use the bully pulpit and the office to do the same. and instead of putting his holdings in a blind trust as other presidents have, trump is handing his business over to three of his kids. but trump will still be in contact with his children as he runs the country. he will be well aware of many of his holdings. such a situation inherently creates the poten

i get that whether you have people like pete horner this guy now bragging about all the fake news he out in the election cycle he is responsible for that story that there were protesters paid $3,500 to go to trump rallies. if you look at the link. >> it's internet. >> corey lewandowski did. if people are not being smart about the news they are consuming, we have a problem. >> two tracts here, kristin. one is people didn't know enough to vote for hillary because they are dumb. the president just said. but the idea that facebook or google or twitter could remove things without our knowledge, shouldn't that get us up in arms? >> absolutely. i'm a libertarian and i think we need to let the market decide what is worthwhile and what is not. the actual fake news sites, they will lose credibility and eventually their audience. >> when when will alex jones lose credibility? >> there is an audience for alex jones. we need to let everything get posted. otherwise, it's going to be up to facebook or some other institution or worse the government to decide what fake news is. the problem, tucker, i

. >> reporter: one of the most prolific writers of fake news is 38-year-old paul horner who thinks his stories may have helped donald trump get elected, telling the "washington post" nobody fact checks anything anymore. that's how trump got elected. >> you started with the story that would require muslims to wear badges. surely no one will think this story is true,absurd, but in fact people shared it. then he said, i will go one step further. >> reporter: while horner said he hates trump and thought he was messing with the campaign, he also says with every click his fabricated stories made him money. he claims about $10,000 a month. slowing down after facebook and google announced they will begin to prohibit ad sites pushing fake news. >> what he has been successful exploiting is this idea of confirmation bias people want to read and share news that conforms with beliefs that they already have. >> reporter: so the next time you're browsing online the best advice may be the oldest, don't believe everything you >> there are a few ways to tell if you're reading a fake news story. read bey