Black markets offering Fake News as a Service

‘Fake News as a Service’ offerings are springing up in criminal underground markets in multiple countries, allowing anybody who can pay to ensure the rapid spread of false information, new research indicates.

Such offerings can cover the full life cycle of a fake news article, from the publication of fake press releases, to their promotion to news outlets, to sustaining momentum by posting positive and negative comments, a report from Trend Micro states.

Marketplaces offering Fake News as a Service (FNaaS) have been found in Russia, China, the Middle East and English speaking markets, according to the report.

Different marketplaces cater to the needs of their markets, with Chinese services distributing propaganda-driven content, while Russian marketplaces focus on fake news campaigns, as well as using crowdsourcing to manipulate public opinion and influence online and social media polls.

Despite these regional differences, FNaaS services have common trends, including content creation and distribution, as well as removing content if needed, Trend Micro said.

FNaaS also mirrors content marketing practices used by businesses by leveraging articles and social media posts designed to be organically shared widely.

The term fake news was popularised during the 2016 US presidential election, and the spread of fake news is widely believed to have influenced the election outcome. But Trend Micro said fake news is only one facet of the public opinion manipulation and cyber propaganda campaigns active today.

Besides political motivations, financial motivations are also a major driving force behind fake news campaigns, with perpetrators able to profit from both the sale of advertising and by the reaction to the misinformation being disseminated, such as donations to a cause.

Image credit: ©Lollo/Dollar Photo Club

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