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Marianne Combs

The lasting impact of fake news

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On Dec. 4 Edgar Maddison Welch entered Comet Ping Pong, a pizza restaurant in the Washington, D.C. area, with an assault rifle strapped to his back.

As employees and patrons exited the restaurant in fear, he searched for secret rooms or tunnels. He was there because a fake news story claimed Comet Ping Pong was a front for a child sex ring.

When a man takes an assault rifle into a pizza parlor to "self-investigate" a conspiracy theory, it illustrates the power of fake news and propaganda.

How is fake news impacting our policy? When and how does it differ from propaganda if our political leaders are disseminating it?

MPR News reporter Marianne Combs spoke with Slate magazine's senior technology writer Will Oremus, attorney Steven Aggergaard and Merrimack College professor of communication Melissa Zimdars about 2016's rise of fake news.

To hear the full program, select the audio link above.