Study: Fake News Didn’t Change 2016 Election Results

A new study from Stanford and New York University shows fake news did not change the results of the 2016 presidential election, while far more false stories favored eventual President Donald Trump than his challenger, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. “Our data suggest that social media were not the most important source of election news and even the most widely circulated news stories were seen by only a small fraction of Americans,” lead researchers Hunt Allcott and Matthew Gentzkow wrote in the study, reports The Hill.

For most Americans, Dow 20,000 carries little benefit

While Wall Street celebrates yet another stock market record – surpassing 20,000 on the Dow Jones industrial average – many Americans have little reason to cheer. Despite the spread of 401 retirement plans, the wealthiest 10 percent of households own roughly 80 percent of stock market wealth.

Did fake news help elect Trump? Not likely, according to new research

“Fake news” stories favoring Donald Trump far exceeded those favoring Hillary Clinton but did not have a significant impact on the presidential election, concludes a new survey of social and other media consumption. The study, which also downplays the political impact of social media in general, is co-authored by economists Matthew Gentzkow of Stanford University and Hunt Allcott of New York University.