How “fake news” became a weapon.

It started as a joke.
Became an accusation.

And turned into a global threat to journalism and truth.

This recap covers what Cunha et al. (2018) taught us about the rise—and distortion—of a viral term. Our source:

Cunha et al. (2018)

Fake News as We Feel It: Perception and Conceptualization of the Term ‘Fake News’ in the Media

Presented at SocInfo, published by Springer

academia.edu/43228329/Fake_…

Why precision matters.

“Fake news” became a global insult.

But it was never a clear category.

This thread explains why vague, viral language is dangerous—and how we fight it. Cunha et al. (2018) show that “fake news” changed fast.

It went from describing satire and hoaxes—to being a political weapon, media frame, and emotional trigger.

But its definition never caught up.

When a joke stops being funny.

“Fake news” used to mean satire.

Then it became slander.

This thread explains how humor lost its clarity—and why that confusion became a powerful tool for manipulation. Cunha et al. (2018) point to a key shift:

Before 2016, “fake news” often referred to sites like:

The Onion
The Daily Show
Saturday Night Live

It meant parody. It meant commentary. It meant “clearly not real.”

How one election redefined a global term.

Before 2016, “fake news” meant satire, hoaxes, or clickbait.

After 2016, it became a political weapon.

This thread explains how the U.S. election made “fake news” a global insult. Cunha et al. (2018) show how fast the shift happened.

They analyzed:

The rise of “fake news” in media articles
The surge in emotional negativity around the term
The global uptake of a U.S.-rooted phrase

The tipping point: the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

“Fake news” didn’t start as a political weapon.

It was once used to describe satire.

Then it became a global slur.
Now it's used to undermine truth itself.

This series looks back at when—and how—that shift began. Our source:

Cunha et al. (2018)
Fake News as We Feel It: Perception and Conceptualization of the Term ‘Fake News’ in the Media

Presented at SocInfo 2018 (Springer)

academia.edu/43228329/Fake_…

Digital espionage isn’t flashy anymore. It’s quiet, simple, and devastating.

The Dutch government just went public with a warning about a Russian cyber actor:

LAUNDRY BEAR, also known as Void Blizzard.

Here’s what their tactics tell us about the future of cyber conflict. Source:
🇳🇱 AIVD & MIVD Joint Public Report
May 27, 2025



This is rare: a detailed, declassified intel advisory.

And it’s a warning to everyone.aivd.nl/documenten/pub…

Why do people consume fake news?

It’s not just ignorance.
It’s not just tech.

It’s identity.
Emotion.
Repetition.

And trust—or the collapse of it.

This thread recaps key findings from Gradim & Amaral (2020). Our source:

Anabela Gradim & Inês Amaral (2020)
Understanding Fake News Consumption: A Review
Published in Social Sciences (MDPI)

doi.org/10.3390/socsci…

The line between fake, biased, and satirical is blurring.

Not all misinformation is created equal.

But many people can’t—or don’t—tell the difference.

This thread explains how the boundaries have broken down, and why that matters. Gradim & Amaral (2020) identify a growing problem:

Most users don’t distinguish between:

Intentionally false news
Satire or parody
Opinion masquerading as fact
Heavily biased or emotionally charged reporting

To the user, it all feels like “news.”

Education helps—but not in the way you think.

You can be highly educated.
You can know how media works.

And still fall for fake news.

This thread unpacks why knowledge alone isn’t protection. Gradim & Amaral (2020) review the research:

Media literacy improves our ability to analyze content.

But it doesn’t automatically override emotional reasoning or identity bias.

It helps—but it’s not flawless armor.

Fake news isn’t about stupidity.

It’s about psychology.

And until we understand that, we’ll keep blaming the wrong people—while the lies keep spreading.

This thread explains why intelligence doesn’t protect you from misinformation. Gradim & Amaral (2020) summarize a key finding across studies:

People believe fake news not because they’re ignorant—but because it confirms what they already feel, fear, or want to believe.

It’s not a flaw in knowledge.

It’s a feature of identity.

“Fake news is more than falsehood. It’s a weapon.”

Fake news isn’t just misleading. It’s strategic.

It’s deployed to shape narratives, sow distrust, and fracture societies.

🧵This thread explains how fake news works as an informational weapon.

#FakeNews #MediaLiteracy According to Hagiu & Bortoș (2021):

Fake news often isn't random.

It’s used deliberately—to undermine trust, polarize debate, and weaken institutions.

That makes it more than just bad info.

It’s a tool of influence.

“Why fake news needs images.”

Fake news isn’t just told.
It’s shown.

And that visual layer isn’t decoration—it’s persuasion.

🧵This thread breaks down why nearly all fake news stories rely on photos and video to do the heavy lifting.

#FakeNews #MediaLiteracy In the 2023 study by Karina Stasiuk-Krajewska:

🔹 93% of fake news stories used photos or video
🔹 Only 7% used text alone
🔹 Many combined multiple formats

The message is clear:
Disinformation works best when it’s seen.

“The illusion of objectivity.”

Fake news doesn’t just lie.
It looks like it’s telling the truth.

🧵This thread breaks down how disinformation uses numbers, structure, and style to feel credible—without actually being honest.

#FakeNews #MediaLiteracy The study by Karina Stasiuk-Krajewska (2023) found:

🔹 Nearly 70% of fake news posts included numbers
🔹 Many mimicked traditional journalistic structure
🔹 Most avoided overt emotion

Why?

To appear neutral, informed, reliable.

“Mockery is a weapon.”

Most fake news isn’t angry.
It’s sarcastic.

And that tone isn’t random—it’s strategic.

🧵This thread explains how mockery builds trust, deflects facts, and spreads disinformation.

#FakeNews #MediaLiteracy According to a study of 435 fake news stories (Stasiuk-Krajewska, 2023):

A full 75% of disinfo posts used mockery or derision.

Not just lies.
Tone—ridicule, snark, contempt.

It’s not just what fake news says.
It’s how it says it.

What if fake news doesn’t look fake at all?

It looks like a headline.
It cites numbers.
It uses images.

And that’s exactly the point.

🧵This thread series breaks down how fake news is built—and how to spot it. Source: Karina Stasiuk-Krajewska
academia.edu/126009288/Fake…

It’s one thing to say society is broken.

It’s another to ask: what would healing look like?

Steve Taylor offers a bold answer.

A blueprint for a society rooted in empathy, not dominance.

Here’s what he proposes. First, what are we trying to fix?

Taylor identifies disconnection as the core wound—manifesting as:

Violence

Inequality

Authoritarianism

Environmental crisis

Loss of meaning

The goal isn’t utopia. It’s reconnection.

We talk about connection like it’s a moral or social value.

But for Steve Taylor, connection is also an experience.

A shift in consciousness.

Here’s what that looks and feels like. Taylor describes connection as a state of nonduality.

That means:

No hard boundary between self and other

No rigid division between mind and world

A deep sense of belonging, being part of rather than apart from

Empathy isn’t just a moral virtue.

It’s a political force.

And according to Steve Taylor, it’s one of the most underused tools for transforming society.

Here’s why. In disconnected societies, empathy is scarce.

That scarcity shows up everywhere:

In how we treat migrants

In how we talk to each other online

In who we choose as leaders

Empathy isn’t just personal—it’s systemic.

Why do so many people embrace authoritarian leaders?

Steve Taylor argues it’s not just fear or propaganda.

It’s something deeper: psychological disconnection.

Here’s how it works. Disconnection, in Taylor’s terms, is a chronic state of alienation:

From others

From empathy

From inner awareness

From the living world

This isn’t rare—it’s baked into many modern cultures.

What if society’s most dangerous problems—violence, authoritarianism, ecological crisis—stem from one root cause?

Psychologist Steve Taylor thinks they do.

That root cause is disconnection.

Here’s what his research shows. In his 2021 paper, Taylor argues that disconnection is a psychological, cultural, and spiritual crisis.

It’s not just isolation. It’s the normalization of alienation—from others, from the planet, from inner life.

It’s the emotional architecture of dysfunction.

Russia is attacking the West.

Not with tanks or missiles—but with sabotage, arson, disinformation, and deniable proxies.

CSIS just published a report exposing the scale of this campaign.

Let’s break down what they found.

#Russia #HybridWarfare This is a shadow war—a form of conflict below the threshold of conventional warfare.

No uniforms. No declarations. Just operations that destabilize, confuse, and erode.

It’s cheaper, deniable, and hard to attribute—perfect for modern authoritarian regimes.