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8 fake news stories you probably fell for during the past year


No, a Chinese zoo didn't name a baby monkey 'Harambe McHarambeface'. The story – which surfaced on a fake American news site – described a Chinese zoo's naming competition being hijacked by online pranksters. It was picked up by real news outlets, but was entirely made up.

8 fake news stories you probably fell for during the past year

Fake news has become big news in the past few weeks – after bogus stories from hoax websites became a huge phenomenon in the American election.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg said at a technology trends conference, 'The idea that fake news on Facebook, which is a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way I think is a pretty crazy idea.'

Some fake news stories have been shared thousands of times, and read by millions – and despite new crackdowns by Facebook and Google, it looks likely to continue.

Be honest, did you fall for any of these?

 

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