I Can't Believe it's Not News: A Podcast about Fake News

This week Beth and Kelly look into the issue of legislating fake news - is it a good idea? Most journalists say no - and so do we. Free speech is a pillar of democracy, and even if someone says something fake - or stupid - we don't believe the government should be making laws against it. This obviously does not include incitement of violence, which is not protected under free speech in America.

To Facebook, or not to Facebook - that is the question. This week Beth and Kelly take a look at the recent stories surrounding the world's largest social media platform and try to decipher the real from the fake.

This week marks one year since I Can't Believe it's Not News began, and boy, oh boy, did we have a wild year! Join us as we have a brief discussion about past episodes, lessons we learned and tip our murderino hats to My Favorite Murder by discussing our favorite conspiracy theories. We joined by none other than Elizabeth, who returned to talk fake news, conspiracy theories and best new TV shows.

​In this episode Beth and Kelly interview Will Sommer, campaign editor for The Hill and creator of the newsletter Right Richter. Right Richter (@rightrichter) is a weekly report on conservative news. He reads it all, so we don't have to.

In this episode Beth and Kelly dive into SCIENCE! A few weeks ago an article about Astronaut Scott Kelly went viral that inspired us to look further into how fake science is put out as real news. In this case, it was merely a sensational headline that needed further examination to get to the truth, but many times science is used to generate clicks - whether they are based on fear (Scientists Confirm Chocolate Definitely Causes Cancer) or comfort (Scientists Confirm Chocolate Definitely Prevents Cancer).

In this episode, Beth and Kelly discuss satire and whether it should be considered fake news. Surprise - it's not! However, you can't just call fake news satire and get away with it either. There's a fine, cringeworthy line you just cannot cross. Good satire can be anything from The Onion to The Daily Show - but bad satire abounds these days, so let's dive right in!

And, we're back! In the second part of our very long talk about guns, Kelly and Beth discuss Kelly's List o' Gun Myths that perpetuate in every social media post after the newest shooting. They take on good guys with guns, mental health and even talk about the NRA's first female president and fellow Floridian, Marion Hammer!

In part one of our two-part episode, Beth and Kelly talk about guns and the myths that surround them. February 14th, 2018 America experienced another mass shooting in a school - but this time the reaction has been different. We've watched as survivors have stepped into the role of policy changers - and we're here for all of that! Are bots creating fake stories about these kids? You bet! Are the usual suspects (The Federalist, Gateway Pundit, Hannity, etc) regurgitating misinformation instead of doing real investigative work? Do you even have to ask?

Follow along with the episode guide at https://www.podcastfakenews.com/i-cant-believe-its-not-news-episode-guide-blog/episode-22

In this episode, Beth and Kelly take a deep dive into bias news/fake news and interview Vanessa Otero of MediaBiasChart.com. Sadly, Beth had the flu and couldn't take part in the interview, but she's feeling much better now - hooray!

​​In this episode, Beth and Kelly discuss the rise of clickbait - and why so many legitimate news outlets rely on it for revenue. Beth also discovers the nefarious underbelly of online face creams. (Hint - It's a scam!) Everyone has fallen for it at one point or another, so it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Follow along with the blog: https://www.podcastfakenews.com/i-cant-believe-its-not-news-episode-guide-blog/episode-20