Here is another example of how Fake News is written and spread over social media. This tactic is called twist and shout. In this Rappler piece the headline runs “Mocha runs blog on her own? Why was it ‘live’ as she spoke?”. The piece then accuses Mocha of lying about the management of her blog during the Senate hearing with the aim of showing that Mocha is a liar and that Mocha has an army of paid trolls running things for her.
Before I go into why this Rappler post is another piece of fake news, let me enumerate the highlights of the twist and shout tactic.
- Identify isolated facts.
- Insert your own interpretation of the facts.
- Make a damning accusation based on the isolated facts whose interpretation you manipulated.
Let us look at the post. What isolated facts did Rappler identify? The specific conversation between Mocha and Trollanes. She was asked if someone edits or vets her blog posts. Mocha answered that nobody edits or vets her posts for her and that whatever she posts is her own personal opinion. Rappler also identified another isolated fact – that Mocha’s facebook page was live streaming the Senate hearing.
How did Rappler insert their own interpretation of the facts? First they interpreted the question from Trollanes as – “Are you the only one who manage your social media platforms?” The questions was very specific – does anyone read (for editing and vetting purpose) your blog posts before they are posted? Those are two completely different questions. Rappler alleges that Mocha lied during the Senate hearing because she could not have live streamed the Senate hearing while she was in the senate hearing. How can she lie about something she never said? She never said she was the only one involved in running and managing her social media platforms. She was asked if someone edits or vets her posts but Rappler insists she lied because to them the questions meant “does someone else help you in your social media platforms?”
After identifying isolated facts and inserting their own interpretation, Rappler then makes a damning accusation that Mocha perjured herself. They accused Mocha of not only being a propagandist but also of lying to the Senate. This last step in the twist and shout tactic is aimed to evoke anger at someone or something, which is the hallmark of a propaganda material masquerading as news. Rappler has always been hostile against Mocha Uson since the beginning. They have slut shamed her and repeatedly pandered to the idea that since she started off as a sexy dancer she will always been only good enough to be a sexy dancer. These millennial swho run and write for Rappler are disgusting. Their hate for Mocha shows their true color as bigots and assholes. They hate her so much that they are willing to spread fake news about her just to prove a point!
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