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Facebook didn't stop fake news because it's afraid of conservatives
In the last week, Facebook's been battling the accusation that fake, often inflammatory stories showing up in users' Newsfeeds influenced how people voted in the presidential election. The social media giant vowed it is currently taking the issue seriously and is searching for an unspecified solution even as CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally defended Facebook, claiming that over 99% of stories on the network are authentic and that it was "extremely unlikely" that fake news impacted the election outcome. But within Facebook, a fierce debate has allegedly roiled since May about whether to install an update that curbs fake and hoax news -- but they didn't deploy it because stories from conservative news sources were disproportionately downgraded and removed from users' Newsfeeds.
Zuckerberg says Facebook didn't influence the election
If you controlled a media publishing platform that connected to millions of people, it'd make you a pretty powerful individual. Not so, according to Mark Zuckerberg, who has come out against the notion that Facebook helped win it for Trump. TechCrunch reports that the CEO was challenged about his social network's laissez-faire policy towards stopping the flood of fake, bubble-reinforcing propaganda. He thinks that the notion that the torrent of fabricated stories "influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea."
Should unemployed Americans buy Apple gear? The Onion weighs in
The Onion, one of our favorite sources for fake news, has done a talking heads analysis of whether the unemployed should buy Apple computers. In typical Onion fashion, they miss the point -- on purpose. The consensus? Of course the unemployed should buy Apples! You can do graphic design and look cool at Starbucks. The only person with a semi-reasonable point winds up getting tossed off the show for knowing nothing about the problem. As one analyst mentioned: "I didn't know that we'd be drinking the Apple Kool-Aid here." For a good dose of said Kool-Aid, check out the video either on the free Onion app, or on the next page.
Onion releases iPad app, The Onion Tablet
It's not an April Fool's joke -- the Onion really has released an iPad app, called The Onion Tablet. The company has had a few apps out already on the iPhone (and recently combined them into one), but this is the first time the hilarious fake news organization has appeared on the iPad. It's a pretty straightforward affair, allowing you to read and browse the latest and greatest from the humor newspaper of record, with a nice clean interface, and all of the content from the website available right there in iPad app form. The only complaint so far seems to be the ads -- there's one right in your face when the app opens up that sticks around for what's said to be longer than it should. But that's not too big a deal, considering the app is completely free anyway. If you're a frequent Onion reader, it's probably one you'll want to pick up for your iPad or iPad 2.
