FACT Aotearoa News Briefs 17 August 2026

Meta (Facebook) will train its AI on Newsmax, a far-right outlet with a history of conspiracy theories - The Cool Down
Newsmax's has a propensity for spreading lies, conspiracy theories, and disinformation. NewsGuard, an organization that rates media websites on their accuracy, gave the outlet a score of 20 out of 100 and said Newsmax "is unreliable because it severely violates basic journalism standards." Among the outlet's most prominent falsehoods were its 2020 election claims about Dominion and Smartmatic. Both companies sued, and the cases were settled, with Newsmax agreeing to cough up more than $100 million combined.
https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/meta-ai-training-newsmax-far-right-outlet/

Facebook is paying controversial creators to produce rage-bait content - ABC
A white nationalist with neo-Nazi links who hurled racist abuse at the Indian prime minister during his visit last month is being paid by Facebook's parent company, Meta, to produce content. An ABC NEWS Verify investigation into several controversial Australian pages on Facebook has found that some are benefiting directly from social media monetisation programs run by Meta.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-06/ragebait-how-facebook-is-paying-controversial-creators/106940696

Disinformation doesn’t care about your facts. Here’s how you can fight back - FastCompany
We no longer operate in a single information environment, but in a multiverse of them, each with its own influencers and echo chambers. Understanding those networks and how they function is the key to successfully fighting conspiracy theories and disinformation.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91581223/disinformation-how-you-can-fight-back-networks

How do you know if a news site is fake? Wikipedia has a page for that.
Fake news sites deliberately publish hoaxes and disinformation to drive web traffic inflamed by social media. These sites are distinguished from news satire (which is usually intended to be humorous) as they mislead and sometimes profit from readers' gullibility. While most fake news sites are portrayed to be spinoffs of other news sites, some of these websites are examples of website spoofing, structured to make visitors believe they are visiting major news outlets.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fake_news_websites

How ideas of a vast censorship network moved from the online fringe to Trump policy - MIT Technology Review
The Trump administration dismantled government agencies combating foreign disinformation after conspiracy theories about a "censorship-industrial complex" gained influence through far-right media, social media networks, and key figures like Mike Benz. These theories, rooted in selective facts about content moderation decisions, were amplified by conservative organisations and eventually shaped official policy, resulting in weakened US defences against state-sponsored propaganda from adversaries.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/08/07/1141105/how-ideas-of-a-vast-censorship-network-moved-from-the-online-fringe-to-trump-policy/

Why do some people feel life is so unfair? Understanding this may help explain conspiracy beliefs - British Journal of Psychology
Researchers studied how lifetime adversity shapes people's perception of world fairness and institutional trust. Three surveys of 1,200 British participants found that those experiencing more hardship - illness, bereavement, crime - were more likely to view the world as unfair and distrust institutions. This perception of injustice correlates with greater endorsement of conspiracy theories.
https://theconversation.com/why-do-some-people-feel-life-is-so-unfair-understanding-this-may-help-explain-conspiracy-beliefs-289272

After suffering a serious stroke, Kim Dotcom plugs the conspiratorial Outdoors and Freedom Party on Tucker Carlson - NZ Herald
Their policies include opposition to vaccines, 5G, and flouridation. Leader Sue Grey was a key participant in the three-week Occupation of the New Zealand Parliament in 2022.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kim-dotcoms-first-major-interview-since-stroke-shows-speech-heavily-impacted/U6C7VP5LSRARTOT7WELXFEPWZQ/