The True Story of Fake News: How Mainstream Media Manipulates Millions

by Mark Dice

Is fake news being spread through social media as part of an information war? Are political operatives publishing disinformation to smear the opposition and help their own agendas? Who creates fake news, how does it spread, and can it be stopped?

What are the real world effects of fake news stories that go viral? Did it affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential election? Or is ‘fake news’ a fake problem, designed to justify tighter control over the mechanisms of sharing information online to drive audiences back to brand name media outlets because their audiences and influence are dwindling?

Media analyst Mark Dice takes a close look at the fake news phenomenon and the implications of mega-corporations like Facebook, Google, and Twitter becoming the ultimate gatekeepers and distributors of news and information.

You will see the powerful and deceptive methods of manipulation that affect us all, as numerous organizations and political activists cunningly plot to have their stories seen, heard, and believed by as many people as possible.

The depths of lies, distortions, and omissions from traditional mainstream media will shock you; and now they’re colluding with the top tech companies trying to maintain their information monopolies. This is The True Story of Fake News.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Conspiracy Theories, History, Sociology, Government

330 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2017

About the author

Mark Dice is an expert on secret societies and conspiracies. He is also a media analyst, YouTube personality and best selling author. His YouTube channel has over one million subscribers and his humorous videos expose fake news, main stream media manipulation and "liberal lunatics". His viral videos have been mentioned on several mainstream media outlets around the world and he has been featured on various television shows.

Reviews

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me it was a 3 star for the writing form and a 4 star for the content. Having that many footnotes and research sources on every page- plus the numbers of statistics of every kind: polls, numbers of events or issues covered during a news cycle, makeup of the media in the past, quotes of the media 5 years ago, now etc. Between all of these stats numbers- it's a read you can fly through in simplicity of language but not to the full understanding of all those numbers and percentages.

But I've lived long enough to see what happened to the news on network and on cable stations, in newspapers, in radio, and especially in forms of print during my life. And HAS it changed.

Not for the better.

So I rounded it up for the content to the exactness in all of those stats and examples to what I've viewed myself.

I can still remember standing with a friend listening to the set between football games the fall before the 2016 election. Station after station using the same exact and stilted words (do they have a script that they all read off of and it happens at least 2 times a week now- using a not ordinary or very peculiar phrasing one station after another- from "the tape"?). But we stood there just laughing. One after another after the resounding echo coming from 890 WLS in Chicago on top of it.

It was this phrase, "there is a narrow, no non-existent road to election for Donald Trump".

We heard about this "narrow road" for at least 2 straight weeks. Phrased identically. With maps and pointer accompanied at times. Then it turned into a "non-existent" road and the map got all its colors completed. Pointer aimed at just a few that "might" be suspiciously red.

This book has some chapters that are priceless and 5 star. The Power of Propaganda is one. That's what the liberal "news" has become in 2017-2018. Very similar to Pravda in "approved" and "unapproved" definitions too. But primarily it's assault to motive, hatred and most highly interpretation to every negative observed and unobserved about and for "the other". Not only against Trump. But against all the Americans who voted for Trump as well. Because of course, they could not have voted against Hillary unless that were woman haters, racist, or one of the other 12 or 15 common calling out epithet category.

There are several chapters on each individual cable or news network station that are now the worst. News is a sidebar, the entire shows are derogatory opinionated commenting interpretations.

Another excellent chapter is Lying by Omission. This happens every day presently. Almost exactly as how it is defined and examples given. Censorship of trending topics by social media news is about 4 star. It doesn't begin to address the kinds of "eyes" this news is sifted/ interpreted for through every word's supposed "heard" nuance. Omitting the main substance of the topic or event. What place, how and when (in relation to the time the discussed actually occurred) and why a "trending" news becomes announced on those Facebook sidebars, for instance. (Facebook proclaimed the end of that practice, sidled with apologies, this last week. Watch to see what it does next!) If Trump walked on water successfully- the "trending" "breaking news" for the occasion would read thus: "Trump tries to swim and doesn't even get wet."

Google parts of the media explanations in this book for how that all works to its founders and mega-corporation bias also is rather interesting. I've noticed that Google doesn't even list what I searched for in the first 8 or 10 choices now, but switches you to a tangent related database. Some are advertisement / sales related and others are for their more "approved" sites, barely connected to the terms I put into the search feature.

In some ways this book is a bit dated already. It's (didn't think it could but it has) gotten worse the more issues that Trump completes or addresses within his Presidency. Especially if it is something that he had promised to address within the campaign. And again at rally or support for state side candidates (just like the one he just did in Nashville.) The omissions there are 90%- only taking something said out of its context to make it appear nearly 180 degrees from the point intended. The "animals" comment was one of those- just this month. CNN didn't even cover the President's speech live that night, I noticed. Nor did NBC and ABC news cover anything but the location. And after it was over refrained from doing no more than a 4 sentence synopsis (CNN). Can you imagine any condition or situation when Obama spoke that it was not covered live? Or if this level of animus would have been set to even a 25% of the vitriol heaped on Trump. I can't. Fox included in every year of the last 10. All Presidential live speeches or events were covered and shown in real time. This is another change and omission. But not for endless hours of supposition upon DOJ (non-elected every one) proclamations or hierarchy cabals. Those hearings too- rarely live but often interpreted. Many lengths in time given to interpretation and redefinition too. In multiples of hours beyond what/when/where/who the original event or hearing occurred. Always 20 hours of why to 1 hour of actual.

This also has some reference material on the ways that media can "change" voters' opinions or not. And how much influence can be bought or not. And if those capacities are realistic as they are portrayed by the supposed "Fake News" hierarchies. Some of that seemed speculative. But do know, that the bottom rung point of this issue- made a few times in this book is very real. And that the more voters' view (and many of them that voted for Hillary are in this group now) the levels of liberal progressive leftist hate and language expressed- the more the average American has become revolted by it. It's just not a part of their worldview morality or manners. Especially and more so as time doesn't seem to be decreasing the levels of hubris, arrogance and smirking ire to only "one correct" opinion being allowed or you are far more than just "deplorable". Celebs have doubled down on this and do not begin to understand the disaffection to this kind of "we think" that Americans despise when they observe it. Great gobs of Americans hold a manner of much wider good intent. And forms of languages both simpler and far more core respective. There is some connection to the constant shouting down of Conservative speakers in the book too here- a free speech section. But not enough to the techniques that are being used to silence it. It was barely a 4. This is far more important than to the time given to it.

The reality of Wikepedia use and form in this book was a 5 star. This is something I have noticed time and time again myself. The implications of what this "true" source does is (like Facebook, Google but even more so)- becoming a kind of "ultimate gatekeeper". It's value judgments are evident to me in just the length of the entries alone. Some new toy gadget gets pages of copy and the printing press gets short shrift by comparison? Also in what it "questions" and what it doesn't "question" in its definitive related material to the subject search. That's become dreadful, IMHO.

I'm not so sure the title of this book is accurate though. It helped to lose that top star for sure there. It's a wider focus in title that is needed to encompass all these stats and bias realities of "eyes" observed every day by anyone with a TV, radio, smartphone or PC, IMHO. Fake news is not truly wide enough at all. Because entire value systems, law as federal LAW or state LAW and Constitution words/ amendments of the Bill of Rights are becoming "fake news" redefined in/for their own little world usages. And swallowed whole with the help from Fake News, although shown/displayed/laws omitted and transgressed upon a much larger real life stage may be severe- quite beyond just the telling of it.

If that Ben Rhodes book quote from Obama post-2016 election is accurate? (The "went too far" quip question?) Then can I answer it and to him with a resounding "yes". Americans are observing and not just listening. They have a history and "eyes" of their own. And define their own beliefs within individual decisions and definitions to their own viewed practical applications/outcomes. And the next elections (2020 too) will be more red the greater the hatred and effusive denigrating that the media and the Leftist celebs (and also Academia stages) continue to fully act out. Or the more so the physical "anger" is expressed in "awareness" or "protests" for issues that the common American sees as identity politics which negates their own INDIVIDUAL self-identities. Self-identities seen as part of a whole piece essential and as a positive core base for the American republic that was founded and does exist. Still does.

[Dexter Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice to see more and more people waking up...

[Ruiying Lian · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an onlooker, I do believe the liberal dominated American society need some changes. US is extremely political correct, which has its bright side and its dark side. America's mainstream media is dominated by liberals and of course they would seek a way to defend their interests. Not covering anti-white attacks and screwing with the national policy to defend their ideology. This book, written by a obvious republican, provides a new perspective of looking at liberals, revealling their dark sides. Liberal media use social justice as a façade of their interest, after all, being kind is always right, isn't it?
I appreciate liberal ideas, many of which are inspiring, but it is not healthy for a group to be arrogent and prejudiced over other groups. I feel this deeply because China has long been ludicrously accused for not holding the west's common values.
But on the whole, the content of this book is not enriched enough, with only a few examples of those mainstream media, since the title of this book imply that this book is about those stories. Also, the author sounds deeply prejudiced too, disclosing in words his "sickness" of homosexuals and transgenders. I mean, yes, liberals should go that far, but it doesn't justify for his discrimination.
A good read though, after all, it provides a new perspective, which is very important.

[Faith Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Mark! And ABC news for proving your point!

Thank you Mark! So how about that perfect timing with ABC's Brian Ross the news actor no longer news anchors proving your book's accuracy buy tanking the stock market for a few hours with his manipulation.

[Allen Bagby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of highlighted passages for me in this book. I've read several of Mark's book. This is a solid addition to his growing work. I loved how he ordered the book with chapter heads signifying which corner of the media he's analyzing. That makes it easy to reference for the future. All of Google's and ABC's et al sins are under their respective heading. There's not a lot of finger-pointing based on media ideology, it merely lists sin after sin of these outlets and thus shows the result of "liberal" ideology and their clear agenda to distort reality and deceive people.

[Jonathan Hockey · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Owners of major media companies see the power their empires hold and often choose to use their outlets to influence people instead of informing them. From activist journalists to senior editors to CEOs, many in the big media companies can’t help but impose their personal political ideology on the world by using the infrastructure they have at their disposal. "

"By building mountains out of molehills, through lying by omission, agenda-setting, framing stories and issues in a certain light, and by manipulating what is spread through social media by either limiting its reach or artificially amplifying it, the major media and tech companies try, and they do, influence the way people think and thus how they act."

"Our media, our tools, and our politics are being leveraged to help breed polarization by countless actors who can leverage these systems for personal, economic, and ideological gain."

Just a few of the overarching insights in this book.

At each step with each chapter, just when you think the mainstream media has gone as low as is possible, it goes even lower in the next chapter, as this book reveals. Shocking, frustrating and infuriating at times, even for someone like me who is quite familiar with a lot of this stuff already and from personal experience over the past 20 years or so of gradually awakening to the manipulations of the media. It is a subject I would like to write on at some point, but it is difficult as the insights into the reality of how low some people will stoop can get me too angry to stay in a stable frame of mind to write calmly and fairly.

In general, to avoid getting to angry, it is best to remember that many of these media people are little more than actors performing a role, and reading from a script, in order to assuage people's boredom for each day in a perpetual daily grind. And they are just puppets to real political issues or maybe even just games between the elite owners of these media corporations. I mean, for one example, the owner of CNN was the owner of WCW wrestling, Trump was financially and personally connected with the success of WWF/E wrestling, so everything on CNN could just be a personal gripe he has with Trump. Two billionaires getting a load of puppets to argue inanities over them!

It could be accused of some one-sidedness this book, there is no place for a critique of the fake news of fox, and I am sure there would be some good examples of this. But to be fair to Mark Dice, the point of view on the right is hardly the predominant one in the mainstream media, when you have ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC all lining up definitely on the left/democratic/liberal side, so he is here, and in his work on youtube providing a much needed counter balance to the left wing insanity that has gone through the roof this past two years ever since they didn't get the result they tried to force in a supposedly free election.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend reading this book if you're into political commentary. This book explores and identifies obvious and not so obvious left leaning bias slants they represent in their news cast and articles. Throughout this book, the author Mark Dice, identifies obvious examples of. There's countless examples of bias that can expand volumes, Mark highlights a few to prove a point.

[Zhuwawagu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and documented

A well researched and documented book on the subject. It provides an information packed revelation of the many facets of the so-called American mainstream media.

[Ciarán · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard hitting and thoroughly researched.

In this book Mark Dice does a wonderful job exposing the establishment news media. He delves into the nitty gritty of fake news, lies and corruption within these organisations. What I love about this book is that certain chapters are devoted to each of these corrupt organizations specifically. For example one chapter is devoted to Facebook and another one is devoted to CNN. I would highly recommend this book in particular for anyone who wants to turn a blind eye to the corruption in the mainstream media. This book will open blind eyes.

[Dan Riolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! Mark is usually a goofy YouTuber making fun of Leftist hypocrisy and lunacy, but this book was well-researched and very interesting. I already knew a great deal of it, which is why I'm giving four stars instead of five, but it did have some eye-opening information that I was unaware of as well. Definitely recommend everyone reads it. Especially those who think that current mainstream media is more than just propaganda to push a political agenda.

[Jeanie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and well sourced

This analysis of the main stream and social media provides documented information and helps connect the dots. Everyone should read. Five stars.

[Johnny Russiani · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the mainstream media and how malicious they are, especially now in the age of Trump. This is a must read!

[Jon Shiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing!!

Honestly could not put it down! Great, quick read. I will have to buy his other books! This is a must read!!

[zozik nakshbandi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book ever!!! Read it to hear the other side's opinion, only made me realise those clown (Trump) supporters really are idiots. Sorry

[Budd Margolis]

Rightwingers will love this book but it is filled with so many distortions I do not know where to begin. Imagine any discussion of Russian intervention during the 2016 election and no mention of the American and global intelligence confirmation? And CNBC/CNN are condemned for mistakes but Fox News is not scrutinised in the same veracity of abuse? One claim is that Facebook did not have any influence. The next sentence this study states that the influence was minimal. IN an election which was won by 78,000 votes in 3 States, no reference is made as to what amount of minimal was changed by facebook. And no admission to the Russian investment of funds and effort into Facebook to warp the election away from Hillary. Mark disputes everything he does not agree with, as a conservative, as liberal invented fake news. He is upset with Youtube for "demonetising" his YouTube site and thinks other propaganda sites have been wrongly removed or downgraded. The problem with first amendment abuse is that many will believe this false tale strewn with lies and omissions which is exactly what he accuses the so-called liberal-dominated mass media. Imagine if the media is reporting the truth but the Cult of Trump denies ever negative fact as fake? We have a democracy is chaos. It is important to know what the Trump supporters think and believe but America can only prosper and continue in a transparent and truthful world. PMark deserves to be placed near the rubbish bin along with other deplorable fake slinging authors Schweizer & Edward Klein

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Please take a moment to rate and review this book on Amazon.com or wherever you purchased it from to let others know what you think. This also helps to offset the trolls who keep giving my book fake one star reviews when they haven’t even read them. Almost all of the one star reviews on my books are from NON-verified purchases which is a clear indication they are fraudulent, hence me adding this note. These fraudulent ratings and reviews could also be part of a larger campaign to stop my message from spreading by attempting to tarnish my research through fake and defamatory reviews, so I really need your help to combat this as soon as possible.”

Wow. I have never read a book with so many grammatical errors and wild accusations. Never have I read a book that requests reviews after the third chapter. Never have I read a book that accuses me of being a troll.

[Ray Almeida · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very nice enumeration of the biased tactics places like FB, Youtube, CBS, etc use in order to mold society into the mess it is today. I loved the interesting facts and stories mentioned within each chapter. This book was a very easy read and was quite enjoyable. It helped open my eyes to how deep the corruption is, and how we are surrounded on all sides by the grasp of these dark powers. With propaganda running 24/7 in broad daylight nowadays, it's good to sit back and evaluate the ceaseless lies the media outlets are getting away with (or have been exposed of, and thereafter memory holed) once in a while.

[SilverReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly thought all these reviews on Amazon were fake.

Though more than 50% of the book mostly concern the USA and every American should read, the take aways were huge, especially the social media part.
I will have hard times to use any of them the way i used to.

Looking forward to reading some more of the author's books.

5* piece. Extensive bibliography too.

[Tallie Yocabet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Excellent writing from Mark Dice once again! Thoroughly recommended reading!! This is the third book I've read of Mark's, great author who does his research.

[Claudia Hendrikz · Rating 1 out of 5]

ack.

Don't bother spending your money on this crap. The biggest game news network is not even mentioned. I want a refund. This is fiction not nonfiction.

[SethGyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book here. It was quite weird making the transition from Mark Dice's voice in my head to that of his as a writer. The book gives a good history of the media and the high rate of misinformation accompanied by an age of so much information.

From there, he provides evidence of fake news from the main stream media starting with CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and NBC. I have to admit some of the instances really shocked me. The bias has never been glaring than after the election of trump. Now Activists are on TV pretending to be journalists.

Mark Dice was outstanding on this one.

[Ciara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great insight about what is really going on in our news media and how they have their own agendas and they want to control our minds and not have us use our own minds. Mark also talks about how some stories are made up and then reported on (fake news). He talks about social networks too.

[nicholas cruciani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and a very informative read. Great work Mark.

[Jack Latham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book and very informative. Mark Dice presented the information in a way that was very easy to understand and kept my attention throughout the whole book.

[Michael Delaware · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the most important book to be released in 2017. Author Mark Dice offers a well documented blow by blow account of the information age and its digression into an era of misinformation. The mainstream media has become an entertainment business with click bait headlines designed to stimulate advertising revenues, and they more interested in selling alarming sensationalism without reference to facts, than providing fact based information.

As the model for the media has drifted away from the subscription based news models driven by the value to consumers of accurate information of prior decades into the circus of the internet age, the importance of providing factual news to keep people informed and retain their subscribing loyalty has become one driven by the echo chambers of social media. With this subtle shift in the market driven by technology, real news resources have become the modern day court jesters, juggling clowns and fake performers seeking the attention of an entertainment driven audience.

A new audience of internet age viewers has emerged as technology as evolved, who no longer rely on printed references to verify facts, and therefore become vulnerable to websites like Wikipedia and Google dictionary definitions to manipulate facts with fiction to pad political ideologies and agendas. This book is an alarming account of the growing problem of the age of false information and fake news driven by the mainstream media. The mind of the viewer become boxed into an entertainment thirsty mentality, and the thirst for real knowledge and facts have become akin to what George Orwell postulated in his book 1984.

This book is a must read for anyone who wants to step outside the matrix of lies, and think for themselves.

[Moss 慈映夢図 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy and direct read. Not super nuanced but the important information is verifiable and obviously alarming.

The historical anecdotes were the highlight (such as Freud's nephew exploiting feminism to sell cigarettes) while the modern stuff is a bit more self-evident (not that that justifies what the media continually does nor nullifies this book in some way).

A few portions are slightly shallow - a casual reader, for instance, might confuse the descriptions of YouTubers PewDiePie and Philip DeFranco since in this book they're interchangeable, but in reality those two cater to a more varied audience than is implied here. It's even now a little dated since DeFranco was recently exposed for masterminding a pyramid scheme designed to take advantage of those who suffer from mental health disorders (See: BetterHelp) while PewDiePie has remained scandal-free, (bullshit articles notwithstanding). None of it is a deal-breaker though.

All told, there's a lot more here to like than dislike. The generous number of sources back up everything stated, but I'd say ultimately this is a light alternative to a more comprehensive look at the history of media you could find elsewhere (and perhaps recommended in the pages of this very book).

Agree and/or disagree with Mark Dice, (and I do), at least he's honest. That's more I could say for his enemies and it's behaviour that should be encouraged.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written piece with a ton of research

I bought this book partly to give back to Mr. Dice for all the years of content he's created and I've enjoyed watching on YouTube. I found this book to be well written, researched, and heavily cited. Mr. Dice poses the problem of fake news as an issue of propaganda and then shows, rather convincingly, that those who started the fake news term are the same spreading the fake news (no surprise there I suppose).

I give four stars, instead of five, because there were times when his argument collapsed in something that could be considered hypocrisy. By this I mean that often the sources he uses to prove his later points are the same sources that he spends the book discrediting. The second reason is that the book is often repetative as he reiterates his earlier points.

Overall, Mr. Dice shows the dire situation we face as facts and reality are becoming less important and giving way to hysteria, propaganda, echo chambers and the irrational obsessions found within. Although he does not give any concrete solutions to the problems and issues, he does imply solutions through the action of the written book itself.

The book is well written and worth a read.

[Philipp Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised when I read this well-written, well-researched and insightful book. I knew Mark Dice from his youtube videos, in which he is making fun with the often absurd perspective that liberals have on certain issues.
As he announced on his channel, this book is a lot more serious and honestly, I received a whole lot of information, oftentimes of the jaw-dropping kind. I think if only some of the information contained in this book were to be made accessible to the general public, there would be a whole lot more criticism of the way the "news" business is conducted.
This book clearly deserves the five stars, no doubt about it!

[Barbara Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally surprised

We've all heard of fake news and witnessed it in print and the msm, but Mark surprised me by the depth of information. I loved this book! A fresh look at fake news from when it began to push products to the way news has changed to push their agendas. I watch all Marks videos but this is the first book of his I've read and won't be the last. I wish I was better with words so let me just end by saying this book is worth the read.

[Jennifer Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Dice is awesome.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be informed about how the media is trying to turn us all into slaves to their agenda. Well written and concise and to the point this book is a big eye opener for all who are interested in knowing the truth