Five things worth sharing from the last week or so, brought to you by a different member of the Browser Media team every Friday.
This week’s My Five is by Will.
1. Fake News & Facebook
*Disclaimer* I slightly cheated on this one as it happened a few months ago, but I’ve only just found out about it – thanks for understanding :)
The rise of “fake news” on social media platforms has been one of the biggest news stories over the past few years. The issue was first brought into the public eye during the 2016 US presidential election when Facebook ads were used to promote fake news stories in attempt to influence the outcome. Since then Facebook has been taking steps to remove fake news stories from their sites, but one writer from Search Engine Journal wanted to test whether Facebook is actually cracking down on fake news.
Larry Kim (founder of Wordstream and now CEO of MobileMonkey) set himself the task of creating a fake news site and sharing a made up news story on Facebook to see how much traction it would get, and the results are quite shocking. Larry’s fake story received over 4,600 impressions and around 200 clicks, for just over $50.
The idea behind this test was not to share a fake news story, but to demonstrate just how easy (and cheap) it is for fake news outlets to share false information. To see a full step-by-step breakdown of the test and results, you can read more here.
2. Elf on the naughty shelf
The “Elf on the Shelf” craze seems to have taken the country by storm more than ever this year, with homes around the UK being invaded by troublesome elves. Personally, I think it’s more creepy than playful.
As is the case with almost every social media trend, big brands love to jump on the bandwagon to help boost their social media strategy. This year Poundland have taken to Twitter and put their own twist on the “family friendly” activity.
Spot the difference… pic.twitter.com/hWV83m4EYE
— Poundland (@Poundland) December 21, 2017
First come, first served pic.twitter.com/JstSqtWOTh
— Poundland (@Poundland) December 19, 2017
3. All rise for the .gif kings!
Anyone who follows football will be aware that this week was quarter final of the Carling, Capital One, Carabao Cup (the league cup). It’s argued that most “big” teams don’t take this competition as seriously as others, with many using it as a chance to play younger squad players. Because of this, we often see a few of the lower league clubs have an exciting cup run.
This year’s underdog story comes from Championship side Bristol City who have knocked out 4 Premier League teams, including a small club from Trafford, on their way to the semi finals. However, their impressive results have taken a backseat to their even more impressive celebrations on Twitter. Whoever runs @bcfctweets needs a pay rise for managing to persuade their players to create some interesting gifs of them celebrating when they score.
Here are some of the best:
Man United face gif kings Bristol City tonight in the League Cup. Just imagine the gifs if they score against Mourinho's men!…
(Via @bcfctweets) pic.twitter.com/w6k2B3IExK
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) December 20, 2017
4. Be careful where you’re swinging that thing
Christmas time means one thing:- time for another big film franchise to release another instalment to their ever-growing series. Last week saw the release of the most recent Star Wars film, The Last Jedi. I’ve spent the last week tiptoeing my way around social media trying to avoid spoilers, but one cool thing I did come across was a video of two martial arts experts having fun with some lightsabers.
Check it out:
https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2017/12/12/epic-lightsaber-duel-london-skate-park/
5. Alcohol… it’s a slippery slope to harder substances (probably the floor)
With Christmas party season well and truly underway it’s time to treat yourself after a long, hopefully successful, year. Every year there’s always one person who has a few too many lemonades and ends up making a fool of themselves in front of the colleagues.
Please be upstanding for this year’s winner:
https://twitter.com/__gower/status/943925810255335425
Happy Christmas!!
