…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
Cameron Harris, a man without shame, fesses up to how he lied, cheated and stole when he created and published fake news that helped sway the national election. He had no reason to do it other than greed and he has no remorse.
From Headline to Photograph, a Fake News Masterpiece, by Scott Shane, The New York Times, January 18, 2017
Cameron Harris
A master of fake news speaks. Published earlier today in Huffington Post, Joey muses on media literacy and the need for vigilant skepticism.
Fake News: The Relentless Pursuit of Mind Control
by Joey Skaggs
Huffington Post
November 29, 2016
The news media is all a-flutter with headlines about the rise and proliferation of fake news media: “Did Russia Install Donald Trump As the Next U.S. President?” “It”™s About To Get Worse!” “Living in a Media Bubble” “Can American Democracy Survive?” Excuse me? Wait a minute”¦
Propaganda and disinformation have been an integral part of our daily dose of information forever. In essence, everywhere you look, whether it”™s the allegedly trustworthy mainstream media or the not-so-trustworthy social media alt-right or left-trending news stories, someone is always peddling influence.
It wasn”™t just the Russians who supposedly engaged in influencing election results by hacking emails and proliferating fake news that damaged the Democrats”™ pursuit of the White House. Americans can”™t play the innocent victims here. We”™re all using the same propaganda techniques. Now, because of warp-speed Internet and social media delivery systems, we have a perpetual game of Propaganda Pong, and the onslaught is much more ruthless and, at the same time, highly profitable financially.
That”™s what life is like these days. You”™re either the provider or the recipient””or more likely both””of propaganda and disinformation.
Promotional materials for the Discovery Channel program Eaten Alive led some viewers to expect that they would see host Paul Rosolie devoured by a wild anaconda. When he wasn’t, animal-rights activists and passive sadists alike expressed dismay.
‘Eaten Alive’ Watched by 4.1 Million Viewers
by Lynn Elber
ABCNews
December 8, 2014
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Discovery Channel’s “Eaten Alive” special that pitted snake against man drew more than 4 million viewers, but not all considered it time well spent.
Although the title and a promotional video indicated that naturalist Paul Rosolie would be swallowed by a giant anaconda, Sunday’s pre-taped special didn’t go that far.
Rosolie, described by Discovery as a snake researcher and conservationist, ended his Amazon jungle encounter with the snake after it encircled his body and began squeezing. Wearing bulky protective gear, Rosolie escaped with a sore arm but uneaten.
Online, some viewers jeered the show for falling short of its promise. One posting showed a photo of a mild-looking dog nibbling on a person’s finger, accompanied by a request for their own Discovery show. Continue reading “TV Viewers Disappointed to Not See Host Eaten Alive”
From Mark Borkowski:
How to become internet famous for $68
by Kevin Ashton
Medium.com
The secret of online celebrity Santiago Swallow.
Santiago Swallow may be one of the most famous people no one has heard of.
His eyes fume from his Twitter profile: he is Hollywood-handsome with high cheekbones and dirty blond, collar-length hair. Next to his name is one of social media”™s most prized possessions, Twitter”™s blue “verified account” checkmark. Beneath it are numbers to make many in the online world jealous: Santiago Swallow has tens of thousands of followers. The tweets Swallow sends them are cryptic nuggets of wisdom that unroll like scrolls from digital fortune cookies: “Before you lose weight, find hope,” says one. Another: “To write is to live endlessly.”
His Wikipedia biography explains why: Continue reading “Fame on a Budget”
Ivory Tower Phony? Sex, Lies and Fraud Alleged in W. Va. University Case
by Nona Willis Aronowitz and Tony Dokoupil
NBC News
September 2014
He seemed like the Doogie Howser of India, able to crack the country”™s best medical school, and work there as a 21-year-old doctor. Anoop Shankar later claimed to add a Ph.D. in epidemiology and treat patients even as he researched population-wide diseases. He won a “genius” visa to America, shared millions in grants, and boasted of membership in the prestigious Royal College of Physicians.
In 2012 West Virginia University hand-picked this international star to help heal one of the country”™s sickest states. At just 37, Shankar was nominated to the first endowed position in a new School of Public Health, backed by a million dollars in public funds. As chair of the epidemiology department, he was also poised to help the university spend tens of millions of additional tax dollars. “This is about improving healthcare and improving lives,” said university president Jim Clements, announcing a federal grant for health sciences. “We could not be more proud.”
But there was a problem: Shankar isn”™t a Ph.D. He didn”™t graduate from the Harvard of India. He didn”™t write dozens of the scholarly publications on his resume, and as for the Royal College of Physicians, they”™ve never heard of him. He does have a master”™s degree in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina and an Indian medical degree, but at least two of his green card references””attesting to “world class creativity,” “genius insight,” and “a new avenue for treating hypertension”””were a forgery.
Watch video: “A Sad Fact of Modern Research,” Adam Marcus, Co-Founder Retraction Watch and read the rest of this article here.