Their report, titled How To Make Money By Faking News takes a look at some sites already mentioned in previous reports by other researchers but adds some new names to the mix too, as well as considering the ability of such sites to generate cash.
Just a business: How To Make Money By Faking News - our story on fake FB news business in Latvian version. https://t.co/nCrCe2ftFg pic.twitter.com/6oXjvLXNDL
— Inga Springe (@IngaSpringe) December 13, 2016
As Re:Baltica points out, the success of fake news websites is reliant upon the public's insatiable appetite for sensation and novelty over accurate fact.
"Popular Latvian FB news-like pages are seldomly total fakes, full of outright lies. Mostly these outlets lack a proper editorial process: fact checking, news value judgment and context, and operate on the single criteria: how popular will the post be. Their content creates an impression that everything is terrible, but here are some jokes to divert attention from it."
You can read the full feature HERE.
