Title: Fake News Operators Adapt and Thrive on Facebook Despite Algorithm Changes
In the wake of the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, Facebook made changes to its algorithm to limit the spread of political content, including fake news. However, fake news operators like Christopher Blair have found ways to adapt and thrive on the platform.
Blair, who runs a fake news empire that once earned him up to $15,000 a month by posting false stories about Democrats and the election, saw his engagement plummet after Facebook’s algorithm tweak. But he quickly pivoted to culture war topics like Hollywood elites and social justice issues, and his posts are now receiving more interactions than ever.
Blair, who insists his posts are satire intended to mock conservatives, has seen competitors spring up, many also claiming their posts are satire. These operators have leaned into culture war topics, with only a quarter of false content on Facebook focusing on politics.
Despite Facebook’s efforts to combat misinformation, fake news is still finding an audience online. Blair and his contributors have adjusted their tactics, posting images and memes instead of links to low-quality websites. They have also seen success by targeting celebrities and staging fictitious feuds over culture war topics.
However, Blair faces stiff competition from pages that use artificial intelligence tools to write fake stories about the same topics he covers. SpaceXMania, a network of Facebook pages with nearly 1 million followers, has been accused of plagiarizing Blair’s content and using A.I. tools to generate headlines.
While Facebook continues to grapple with the spread of fake news on its platform, operators like Blair and SpaceXMania are finding ways to adapt and thrive, highlighting the ongoing challenge of combating misinformation online.
