Life

TV review: Fake news is as old as the media itself

Billy Foley

Billy Foley

Billy has almost 30 years’ experience in journalism after leaving DCU with a BAJ. He has worked at the Irish Independent, Evening Herald and Sunday Independent in Dublin, the Cork-based Evening Echo and the New Zealand Herald. He joined the Irish News in 2000, working as a reporter and then Deputy News Editor. He has been News Editor since 2007

Simon Reeve at Denali National Park, Alaska. (C) BBC - Photographer: Jonathan Young
Simon Reeve at Denali National Park, Alaska. (C) BBC - Photographer: Jonathan Young Simon Reeve at Denali National Park, Alaska. (C) BBC - Photographer: Jonathan Young

Ian Hislop’s Fake News: A True History, BBC 4, Monday at 9pm

The Pizzagate conspiracy theory shows the astonishing impact fake news can have.

A bizarre claim spread through social media in 2016 that the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington DC was at the centre of a political child sex ring in a secret basement.

The fake news gained such traction that a man from North Carolina arrived with his assault rifle to rescue the ‘captured children.’

After firing one shot to blast through a door and discovering there was no basement in the family restaurant, Edgar Welsh surrendered to police and told the owner, “guess it was bad intel.”

There was a similar conspiracy theory in London around the same time, with a man claiming a political sex ring had murdered children and abused dozens. Carl Beech claimed the ring included a former prime minister, home secretary, head of defence staff, head of intelligence and MI5.

Police arrested Beech eventually but not before declaring on television that his claims were true.

The term ‘fake news’ was coined by Donald Trump to attack the established media’s coverage of his presidential campaign, although as Ian Hislop points out it’s as old as the media itself.

Early newspapers were filled with scandalous made up stories to entertain their new audiences.

Hislop, who edits Private Eye, told the story of two rival papers in a US town in West Virginia in 1903.

One suspected the other of stealing its stories, so ran a fake one.

The Daily Telegram carried on his front page the tragic tale of the death of a miner, Mejk Swenekafew, shot dead by his friend in a row over a pet dog.

The Daily News repeated the story the next day but had fallen into a trap. The Daily Telegram was able to inform his readers that the rival had admitted: ‘We fake news’ (Swenekafew backwards).

Hislop had other equally brilliant examples. A New York publication called ‘The Sun’ ran in 1835 with a series of stories about life on the moon, as seen, it claimed, through a new super-powerful telescope.

Their illustrator drew herds of miniature bison, flying man bats and half naked women.

The Sun was derided but the arrival of steam-powered printing presses meant the cover price was one-tenth of its rivals and the new readers loved titillation.

They also discovered, as Hislop pointed out; “it’s cheaper to make things up than to find them out.”

It seems social media is currently somewhere around the late 19th century.

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The Americas with Simon Reeve, BBC 2, Sunday at 9pm

Simon Reeve started his journey down the pacific coast of the Americas in the stunning scenery of the northern Alaska.

This is the kind of stuff that your TV is never big enough for.

He flew in a prop plane over the Root glacier - 35 miles long and two miles wide. Although his pilot told him how in 15 years of flying the route she had noticed significant changes caused by global warming.

After landing on the glacier he walked to the most remarkable guest house, which is sure to feature on some bucket lists after this television exposure.

The Sheldon Chalet is perched on a rocky outcrop a couple of hundred feet above the glacier and 6,000 feet above sea level with life affirming views of Denali mountain, North American’s highest peak.

There are no prices on the website but grab a cup of coffee and enjoy a ten minute day dream. That is, after all, what TV travel shows should be about.