Fake news

With the onset of social media the spread of information has accelerated beyond anyone's imagination. While having more access to information is a good thing the speed has caused misinformation. A controversial story comes out and it is instantly reported around the world and as another new story comes along the first is quickly forgotten. Several days or weeks later the first story is debunked but it is old news and many are no longer following. The end result, in the eyes of many, is that the false story has become fact. This sort of thing used to happen in the news papers. John Q Public was accused of some dastardly deed and it made front page news. Some time later he was exonerated and that appeared on page ten. People who thought he was guilty at the time continue to think that even if they read the retraction. Many have figured this out and take advantage. They know if they can get the story out it will have good chance of becoming what people believe.