Democrats are flocking to left-leaning groups known for distributing fake news to consume their daily anti-Trump news, according to a Tuesday report from Axios.
The two most active political Facebook groups are Occupy Democrats and Stand Up America, according to the report. Both groups have a history of spreading fake news in their fervor to oppose President Donald Trump.
Occupy Democrats and Stand Up America have the highest engagement of any political group measured by average engagement per Facebook post. That includes likes, comments and shares in one number. Occupy has an average of 49,952 average engagements per post, and Stand Up has slightly less with 44,341 average engagements per post.
The left-leaning groups were featured in Buzzfeed’s analysis of fake news during the final months of the election. Buzzfeed noted that such groups publish fake news under the premise of “leaked memos” from “rogue White House staffers,” according to the February report.
Politifact rated the majority of Occupy Democrat’s statements as “False,” to “Pants on Fire.” It should be noted that the left-leaning fact-checking site only rated seven claims made by the group.
The most egregious claim the group made was that former President Barack Obama used the least amount of vacation days of any president, according to Politifact. Former President Bill Clinton took significantly fewer than Obama.
Politico reported on Stand Up America’s practice of adding an intensely partisan spin on the headline of mainstream news articles it shares, such as this take on Trump’s stance on the transgender issue.
Alternatively, when right-leaning group Conservative Response Team posted a link to an article on Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie, they wrote in the post, “Gillespie: I’m OK with Charlottesville Taking Down the General Lee Monument.”
Facebook only labeled the conservative group fake news and took it down despite the fact that both groups put spin on a major news site article.
The majority of fake news coverage during the election revolved around pro-Trump outlets with some outlets asserting that the prevalence of pro-Trump fake news played an important role in Trump’s win in November.
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