abandoned shells, 287
ACORN faux investigation, 187, 188
Adams, Scott, 264–65
advertising, 5–6, 41, 44, 79, 88, 193, 295,
comments and, 96–7
headlines and, 125
impressions and, 40–41
newspaper, 108
partner links and, 200–201
rates for, 35
Afghanistan, Koran burning, riots 36–37
Agence France-Presse, 37
Allen, Woody, 266–67
Alterman, Eric, 144–45
alternative facts, 208
American Apparel, 4, 7, 55, 63, 87–88, 124, 149, 150, 161–63, 165, 170, 171, 172, 174, 209, 229, 229, 246, 266, 297–98
Edwards and, 161–64
nail polish sold by, 170–74
Angelgate, 46
“announced today,” 66
anonymous and off-the-record sources, 62, 108, 175
pageviews and, 132
Apatow, Judd, 179–80
Arrington, Michael, 46, 47, 217, 228
Ars Technica, 44
Associated Press (AP), 15, 69, 160
astroturfing, 237
attention gap, 203
attribution, 210
Autoblog, 50
Awl, The, 51
Axios, 148
Axon, Samuel, 140
backfire effect, 251
Ballas, Lambros, 65
Bannon, Steve, 187
Bardella, Kurt, 21
Becker, Gary, 143
Bennett, James Gordon, Sr., 106, 108, 109, 273, 273n
Bercovici, Jeff, 37
Berger, Jonah, 84
Berners-Lee, Tim, 145
Biggs, John, 157
blackmail and extortion, 227–30
Blakeley, Richard, 257, 257n Bleacher Report, 34–35
Blodget, Henry, 16, 53, 207, 208, 275–6 Blogger Bootcamp, 146
blogs, bloggers, 1, 2, 3, 4–5, 7
bounce rate and, 148
content creation, 26, 38, 91, 132, 146
fashion, 55
format of articles, 148–9, 153
hiring and payment structure for, 50
how to read, 281–84
importance of, 16–17
length of articles, 147–50, 152
manipulation and, see media manipulation; media manipulation tactics
marquee, 45
moneymaking avenues of, 39–48
news made by, 13–20
pageviews and, see pageviews pitching to, 151–52
reverse chronological order as standard for, 145
sale of, 47
small, 27–28
as sources for journalists, 23– 24
speed in, 50
subscription model for, 115
toxic, 169–82
Trust Me, I’m Lying and, xx
updates and, 145, 203, 206, 212, 217, 220, 234, 247, 250. 251, 251n
use of terms, 15
Blumenthal, Sidney, 245
Bohannon, John, interview with, 316–20
Bonner, Bill, 13
Borowitz, Andy, 198
bounce rate, 148
Brand, Russell, 57
Brand Channel, 246
Breitbart, Andrew, 184–88, 191–92, 231 Breitbart News, 16, 186, 192
bribes, 49–59
Brin, Sergey, 213
“bro” label, 263–64
Brown, Michael, 188
Business Insider, xvi, xviii, 16, 24, 53, 56, 151, 163, 207, 218, 219, 220, 275–76
BuzzFeed, 16, 71, 73, 81, 87, 97, 138, 189–90, 238, 239, 240
Cain, Herman, 20
Campbell, W. J., 107
Card, Orson Scott, 137
Carey, Drew, 246
Carmon, Irin, 169–82
American Apparel nail polish and, 171–4, 175
Apatow and, 179–80
The Daily Show and, 175–0
Caro, Robert, 112–13
Carpenter, Mathew, interview with, 345–48
Carr, David, 119
Carson, Ben, 199–200
Cernovich, Mike, 98
interview with, 305–15
Chamfort, Nicolas, 133
Charney, Dov, 162, 257, 266; see also American Apparel
Chartbeat, 112
Cheezburger Media, 44
Cheney, Dick, 278
Chicago Now, 32n
Chicago Tea Party, 89
Chicago Tribune, xvi, 3, 28, 32n, 150, 209
Chomsky, Noam, 111
Christian Science Monitor, 130
Churchill, Winston, 7
Chute, 75
Cicero, 220
Google and, 126
headlines and, 94–5, 100, 112, 120–24, 128, 156, 285
on links, 214
YouTube and, 198
see also pageviews
Clinton, Hillary, 24–25, 127, 181, 199, 239
Clinton Foundation, 181
CNBC, 89–90
CNN, xvi, 26, 36, 126, 187, 200, 204, 205, 209, 272
iReport, 218
Money, 65
CNN effect, 205
fake, 139
Huffington Post and, 139
lack of, 137–40
process for leaving, 96
concern trolling, 181–82
Condé Nast, 44
confirmation, see fact-checking and verification
conflicts of interest, 45, 46, 46n, 47, 55, 57
conspiracy theories and theorists, 54, 90, 162, 181, 238
content:
creation of, 26–30, 33, 90, 133, 146
stacking of, 146
contributor programs, 52
Cooley, Charles Horton, 163
Cooper, James Fenimore, 196
Cooperman, Kahane, 176
corrections, 45, 97, 243–53, 297
backfire effect and, 251
of factual errors, 248–49
link economy and, 211
time for, 246–48
Couric, Katie, 30
Craggs, Tommy, 216
Cromer, Gerald, 256
Cruise, Tom, 43
culture of fear, 230–36
Curbed, 46
Curbed Los Angeles, 30–31
cyberwarfare, 225–41
and culture of fear 230–36
implicit shakedowns, 228–30
repetition in, 236–38
weaponizing of information, 238–41
Daily Caller, 25
Daily Intel, 219–20
Daily Mail, 159–61
Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The, 174–78
Daly, Carson, 33
Dana, Charles A., 273
Danone, 227
Deadline Hollywood, 262
de Becker, Gavin, 277
de Botton, Alain, 268
degradation ceremonies, 257–61
de Laive, Patrick, 201
Demand Media, 130
Denby, David, 261
Denton, Nick, 16, 42, 46, 94, 136, 147, 175, 190, 273, 291
Dershowitz, Alan, 266
Detroit in ruins slideshow, 80–82, 84, 91
Digg, 77
DNC hacking, 227
doctored footage, 188
Drudge, Matt, 245 Drudge Report, 16, 25, 89, 134, 184n, 185, 245
E!, 175
Ebner, Mark, 43
Edwards, Jim, 161–5
elections, see presidential elections
Ellis, Bret Easton, 74
Ellsberg, Daniel, 124
leaked, 64–66
anger, 84, 86, 90; see also outrage
sadness, 85
Ending the Fed, 199
engagement, 96, 112–13, 196, 275
errors, 208, 221, 244, 247, 248. 253
apologies for, 245
correction of, see corrections factual, 247–48
psychology of, 249–53
subtle untruths, 249
extortion and blackmail, 227–30
Facebook, xiii, 3, 7, 16, 26, 27, 56, 78, 79, 97, 97n, 99, 113, 126–27, 135, 137, 157, 197, 196, 199, 202, 203, 294, 205, 214, 226, 260
campaign against Google by, 226
fact checking and verification, 27, 58, 67, 149, 158, 211, 215, 222, 231, 250, 297
breaking news and, 215–20, 282
link economy and, 213–15, 221–23
sources and, 26, 67, 78, 149–50
standards of, 181
Twitter and, 202
see also research
facts, 287
alternative, 208
errors in, 248–9; see also errors
fake:
accounts, 236–37
blurred line between real and, 277
comments, 121
embracing, 275–76
news, xiii, 5, 7, 161, 198–200, 277, 291
fashion bloggers, 55
fear, culture of, 230–36
Ferriss, Tim, 77
FFFFOUND!, 23
Financial Times, 229
finding the angle, 156–58, 164
Finke, Nikki, 262–63
FishbowlLA, 30
Fleshbot, 87
Flipboard, 67
Forbes, xvi, 37, 37n, 52, 135, 180
Forbes.com, xvii, 28, 52, 99
Ford, Andrew, 37
Ford, Henry, 141
Fox & Friends, 205
Fox News, 26, 104, 126, 199, 208n, 291
FoxNews.com, 2, 184n
FOX Sports Interactive, 44
French, Christopher, 65
frovocation, 32
see also outrage
Fusion.net, 201
Gateway Pundit, 184n
Gawker, xiv, xivn, 32, 42, 43, 6, 47, 50, 51, 57, 63, 64, 71, 73, 94, 147, 159, 175, 178, 216, 217n, 247, 248, 291
Arrington and, 217n
compensation system at, 51
corrections and, 246–48
Cruise and, 43
Hogan’s lawsuit against, 191n, 293–94
Gawker Media, 16, 42, 120, 208, 291, 293
stats of, 132
Gibson, Mel, 42
Gigaom, 147
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 261n Good Morning America, 185
Google, 37, 56, 65, 66, 79. 113, 126, 227
citations and, 213
clicks and, 126
Facebook’s campaign against, 226
Google+, 67
Google Finance, 65
Google News, 28, 112, 126–27, 204, 205, 214
Google Trends, 130
gossip, 34, 106, 219, 226, 230, 240
Gould, Emily, 178
Grantham, Christian, 37n
Greeley, Horace, 106
Greenblatt, Richard, 100n
Grey, Sasha, 87
Guardian, 58, 79, 130, 199, 212, 213
Haley, Nikki, 25
Hall, Justin, 146
Hannity, 205 Harvard Business Review, 229
headlines, 119–28, 148–49, 214
advertising and, 125
clicks and, 94–95, 100, 112, 120–24, 128, 156, 285
competition among, 125–27
curiosity gap and, 123
newspaper, 122–27
pseudo-events and, 116
in science reporting, 160–61
subscription model and, 124, 125
unbelievable, 252
“hearing reports,” “told reporters,” 66, 282
Hearst, William Randolph, 108, 120
Hedges, Chris, 90,
Help a Reporter Out (HARO), xv, 69–71, 75, 286
Hippeau, Eric, 234
hoaxes and pranks, 75–76, 101, 161, 214, 218–19
Houston Chronicle, 99
How to Make It in America, 30
Huffington, Arianna, 16, 44, 127, 235, 239
Huffington Post, 4, 16, 22, 23, 24, 31, 44, 55, 66, 69, 79, 80, 99, 108, 119, 136, 139, 140, 147, 152, 159, 160, 161, 175, 185, 200, 226, 234, 235, 236, 239, 272
business model of, 39
comments and, 139–40
Detroit slideshow in, 79–81
sale of, 44
Super Bowl story in, 136
unpaid contributions to, 235
Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging, The, 147
Hughes, Scottie Nell, 276
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, 2, 30–31, 33
practical purpose of, 297
weaponizing of, 238–41
InfoWars, 199
interviews, 305–55
Bohannon, John, 316–20
Carpenter, Mathew 345–48
Cernovich, Mike, 305–15
Johnson, Charles C., 321–31
Maddox, 349–55
Young, Peter, 332–44
Is Twitter Wrong?, 243
iterative journalism, 215–20, 244–46, 249–50, 253, 298
Jackson, Michael, 42
Jarre, Maurice, 211–13
Jarvis, Jeff, 202, 210, 216, 221, 222, 253
Jay, Ricky, 123
Jenkins, Henry, 78 Jezebel, 24, 63–64, 87, 99, 124, 148, 164, 152, 169, 171
American Apparel nail polish and, 171–4, 175
The Daily Show and, 175–79
Johnson, Charles C., 187, 188–90, 192
interview with, 321–31
Jones, Alex, 181
Jones, Terry, 36
journalism, xiii, 105–6, 112, 221–22, 273
ethical standards in, 140–41, 211
experience in, 50
iterative, 215–19, 244–45, 249–50, 252–53, 296
professionalization of, 110
breaking news and, 215–20
delegation of trust and, 192, 209–13, 222–23, 249
editorial guidelines and, 209, 210
and finding the angle, 156
Schopenhauer on, 216
sources for, see sources Juvenal, 8, 101
KCCI Des Moines, 35
KFDM-TV Beaumont, 99
KGO-AM San Francisco, 99
Kissinger, Henry, 59
Know Your Meme, 44
kompromat, 230–31
Koran, 36–37
KVUE-TV Austin, 99
Laughing Squid, 23
laurel leaf illusion, 286
lawsuits, 266–67
threat of, 234
Lazarsfeld, Paul, 202
leaderboard strategy, 131, 135
leaked documents, 4–5, 62, 63–64, 240, 282
Lewinsky, Monica, 245, 258, 260
Lewis, Jerry, 263
libel, 241, 294 Lifehacker, 148
Limbaugh, Rush, 119
links, 213–14
clicks on, 214; see also clicks
credibility implied by, 213
economy of, 210–12, 213, 215, 221–23, 283, 286
partner, 200–201
Links.net, 146
Lippmann, Walter, 125, 271, 278
Los Angeles Times, 39, 67, 74, 210
Top of the Ticket, 127
lynch mobs, digital, 256
Maddox, interview with, 349–55
Made in USA, 170
Magnum Photos, 870, 85
Malcolm, Andrew, 127
Malik, Om, 147
Malone, Noreen, 80
manipulation, see media manipulation; media manipulation tactics
Max, Tucker, 2–3, 31, 33, 54, 68, 84, 98–99, 116, 181n, 191, 256–57
McBride, Kelly, 61
McCain, John, 190
McCarthy, Eugene, 212
McCarthy, Megan, 248
McCarthy, Ryan, 39
McClure’s, 155
McLuhan, Marshall, 144
Mediabistro, 30, 32, 157 Mediagazer, 149
media manipulation, xv–xvii, xx, 1
manipulator hall of fame, 183–93
patterns of, 174–80
rebirth of, 111–15
toxicity of, 169–82
media manipulation tactics, xvi, 48, 170
deception, 93–101
giving them what spreads, 77–92
headlines, 119–28
making news, 103–17
making stuff up, 155–65
pageviews, 129–41
telling them what they want to hear, 61–76
using the technology against itself, 143–53
Media Matters for America, 184n
Meet the Press, 278
Mendelson, Brandon, 135–6
Merton, Robert, 202
Mill, John Stuart, 49
mistakes, see errors
MIT Technology Review, 227
Mobile World Congress, 56
mockery, shame, punishment, and humiliation, 89, 90, 255–69
Monde, xvii
Montaigne, Michel de, 255
Monty, Scott, xvii
Morozov, Evgeny, 255n
Motley Fool, 65
Moylan, Brian, 94
Munsterberg, Hugo, 155
narcotizing dysfunction, 202
creation and control of, 170–74, 176
pseudo-events and, 116–17
simple vs. complicated, 81–82, 85, 90, 150
NASA, 235
national press, 29
National Report, 199
NBC, 33
NBC New York, 87
New Orleans Times Picayune, 72, 73, 111
New Republic, 80
news, xiii, 2, 5, 103–17, 156, 273, 286, 298
addiction to, 204–206
blogs’ creation of, 13–20
cable, 144
cycles of, 16, 18–19, 35, 204, 273,
fake, xiii, 5, 7, 157, 198–200, 277, 291
filters and, 273
presentation of, 144
as pseudo-environment, 278–79
specious present and, 250
unexpected and, 273
newspapers, 26–27, 103, 104, 111–12, 160, 196, 248, 256, 273
advertising in, 109
blogs of, 28
headlines in, 122–27
One-Off Problem and, 106, 107, 108, 120
party press, 105–6
purchase of, 125
Schopenhauer on, 216
subscription model for, 104, 105, 109–115, 295–97
yellow press, 7, 104, 105–108, 109, 120, 125, 132
New York City media set, 29
New York Daily News, 99
New Yorker, 133, 198, 261, 305
New York Evening Journal, 121
New York Herald, 106
New York Observer, xviii, 14n, 75,
New York Times, xvi, xvii, 18, 26, 40, 62, 69, 77, 79, 109–11, 119, 127, 201, 208
bestseller list of, xviii, 54, 67
Carson and, 199–200
Cheney and, 278
concern trolling and, 181–82
The Daily Show and, 174–78
mission statement of, 109–10
Most E-mailed list of, 84, 85, 91, 95
subscriptions to, 296
vaping story in, 71
Vietnam story in, 124
Washington Post on, 156–58
New York Times Magazine, 93
Next Web, The, 53n
Nixon, Richard, 225
Nolan, Hamilton, 57
Nyhan, Brendan, 251
NYMag, 152
Obama, Barack, 36, 119, 127, 165, 185, 188, 190, 208, 228n, 239, 262
Sherrod and, 184–85
Oculus Rift, 238
O’Donnell, Christine, 159
One-Off Problem, 106, 107, 108, 112, 120, 286
Onion, 198
fake supporters and, 236–37
Orlean, Susan, 133
Orwell, George, 100
Outbrain, 201
outrage, 32, 83–84, 90, 98, 165, 179, 182, 262
American Apparel ads and, 87–88
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell campaign and, 1–4, 30–33, 36
Overstock.com, 232–33
Owyang, Jeremiah, 225
Page, Larry, 213
pageviews, 1, 3, 19, 29, 99, 100, 129–141, 293, 295, 296
AOL and, 132
comments and, 96–97
compensation systems based on, 50–51, 53, 57
corrections and, 216
goals for, 135
journalism and, 140–41
statistics on, 130
see also traffic
PandoDaily, 159
Parr, Ben, 50
Pawlenty, Tim, 14–15, 17, 18–20
Pence, Mike, 263
Pentagon Papers, 124
Peretti, Jonah, 16, 81, 97, 138
Perry, Rick, 99
Pew Research Center, 64–65, 126
Phillips, Tom, 243
Pittsburgh Tribune Review, 25
Pizzagate, 181–82
Planned Parenthood, 98–99, 116
Playboy, 42
Political Insider, 199
Politico, 16, 18, 20, 148, 226
Cain and, 20
Portlandia, 3
Portland Mercury, 87
pranks and hoaxes, 75–77, 101, 161, 214, 218–19
PR, 233
battles and crises, 226–28, 234–35
presidential elections:
cycles of, 16–18
of 2008, 239
of 2016, 14–16, 187, 204–6, 236
press releases, 64–67, 128, 283
science and, 160
Price Is Right, The, 246
ProFootballTalk, 35
Project for Excellence in Journalism, 64–65
PRWeb, 65
pseudo-exclusives, 42
Pulitzer, Joseph, 106, 108, 109
punishment, mockery, shame, and humiliation, 88, 90, 255–69
Quickish, 35n
quotes, 283
fake, 211–12
taken out of context, 34
Racked NY, 149
Rao, Venkatesh, 100
ReadWriteWeb, 151
blurred line between fake and, 277
extreme versions of, 82–86
and simple vs. complicated narratives, 81, 85, 90, 150
reality television, 97–98, 276
Recode, 148
see also trading up the chain
Reddit, 4, 17, 23, 29, 99, 272
RedEye, 3
Reich, Robert, 55
Reifler, Jason, 251
Religion News Service, 36
replication, 222
reporters, see journalists “reports,” 282, 283
Wikipedia and, 67
see also fact-checking and verification; sources
Resnick, Gideon, 189
Richards, Michael, 42
right-wing conspiracy, 25
Rihanna, 42
Roberts, Roxanne, 243
Romney, Mitt, 20
Rosenberg, Scott, 145
rumors, 217–19, 235, 248, 252, 277n
Russia, 237–39
Trump and, 239
Rutten, Tim, 39
Samsung, 46
San Francisco Chronicle, 209
Santelli, Rick, 89–90
satire, 198
Schopenhauer, Arthur, 216
Schulz, Kathryn, 221
Scoble, Robert, 67
Scobleizer, 151
scrolling, 147
infinite, 295
Seattle Times, 237
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 65, 162, 232
Shafer, Jack, 32
Shankman, Peter, 69
Sherman, William Tecumseh, 93
Sherover, Max, 24
Sherrod, Shirley, 184–87, 191, 191n, 192
Ship Your Enemies Glitter, 23
shitposting, 2237, 238
Siegler, M. G., 159
Sikh Religious Society, 25
Silicon Alley Insider, 219
Sinclair, Upton, xix, 120, 243, 251
Sitrick, Michael, 33–34
Slashfood, 56
slideshows, 78–80, 81, 81n, 91, 163
Snapchat, 54
snark, 156, 164, 256, 261–63, 265, 268
Snyder, Gabriel, 120
Sony Pictures, 227
Sorkin, Andrew, 208
Sound and Fury: The Making of the Punditocracy (Alterman), 144
anonymous and offhe record, 62, 140, 175
blogs as, 26–27
Help a Reporter Out (HARO), xv, 69–71, 75, 286
leaked documents, 4, 62, 63–64, 239, 282
press releases, 64–67
requests for, 70
verification of, 27, 67, 75–76, 149–50
Spencer, Richard, xiii
Spicer, Sean, 208
SportsCenter, 156
Starbird, Kate, 237
stocks, 7, 65–66, 216, 219, 233, 234
Stern, Remy, 159
Stewart, Jon, 174–78
Strauss, Neil, 129
Strong, George Templeton, 107
StumbleUpon, 135
subscriptions:
death of, and rebirth of media manipulation, 111–15
newspaper, 9104, 105, 109–11, 296
Sullivan, Andrew, 115
Super Bowl, 136
Swinton, John, 183
SXSW, 248
Taboola, 201
Taleb, Nassim, 58
Target, 66
Tea Party, 789, 186
tech blogging, 138
TechCrunch, 44, 46, 66, 151, 159, 209, 216, 217, 228, 277n, 292
TED, 260
TEDx, 199
television, 144, 145, 196–97, 291–92
10, 000 Words, 157
TheWatchLounge, 229
thumbnail cheating, 197–98
Time, 24
time stamps, 146
“told reporters,” “hearing reports,” 66, 282
Tolstoy, Leo, 281
Top of the Ticket, 127
toxic blogging, 169–82
Toyota, 234–36
trading up the chain, xvi, 21–38, 211, 277, 286
entry point in, 27–28
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell campaign, 2, 30–31, 33
legacy media in, 28–29
national level in, 30
Sherrod story and, 191n
buying, 135
data on, 120
direct, 113
leaderboard strategy and, 131, 135
as money, 40–41
referring sources in, 113
scoops and, 41–44
see also pageviews
TreeHugger, 44
trolls, trolling, xviii, 96, 98–99, 161, 181, 188, 190, 226, 237, 256
concern, 181–82
disinformation via, 237
Trow, George W. S., xv, 285–86
Trump, Donald, xiii, xv, 15, 17, 19, 20, 38, 64n, 90, 165, 187, 189, 204, 208, 231. 236, 237, 239, 240, 265, 265n, 278
free publicity given to, 17
Russia and, 239
University of California and, 38
trust, 275
delegation of, 209–13, 223, 297
in written word, 257
truth, 207, 208–209, 230, 272, 281, 296
Turgenev, Ivan, 281
Twitter, xv, 15, 16, 17, 26. 27, 30, 54, 56, 75, 84, 112, 113, 130, 135, 150, 157, 159, 199, 202, 203, 204, 205, 218, 222, 229, 230, 238, 258
airline pilot and, 229–30
fake accounts on, 236–37
University of California at Berkeley, 38
updates, 146, 203, 212, 243, 244, 247, 248, 250, 251n, 282
see also corrections
Usenet, 137
user engagement, 96, 112–13, 275
valence, 85–86, 87–88, 89, 139
Van Veen, Ricky, 199
Vener, Scott, 30
Verge, 24
verification, see fact-checking and verification
Videogum, 24
videos, 194
see also YouTube Village Voice, 33
ViralNova, 44
Vox, 16
Vulture, 24
Walker, Rob, 89
Wall Street Journal, xvi, 25, 28, 129, 130, 175, 251, 296
Warner, Kurt, 34
Warnock, Bryan, 137
Warnock’s Dilemma, 137–38
Warren, Robert Penn, 290
Washington Post, 3, 23, 32, 47, 121n, 126, 156–57, 215, 226, 243, 245
on New York Times, 156–57
Washington Times, 25
Wemple, Erik, 215
Western Journalism Center, 25
What Would Google Do? (Jarvis), 210
White, Charlie, 157
Wikipedia, 284
iterative process in, 249, 252
as source, 67–69
vandalization of pages on, 4, 226
Wilde, Oscar, 256
Winchell, Walter, 219, 263n Wired, 28, 100n, 195
witch trials, 256
Wolff, Kurt, 77
words:
substance, 284
Yahoo! Finance, 65
Yardbarker, 44
yellow press, 6, 104, 105–108. 112, 120, 125
Yglesias, Matt, 196
Young, Peter, interview with, 332–44
Young & Sick, 158
YouTube, 22, 54, 184n, 185, 196, 197–98, 230, 292
Partner Program, 198
thumbnail cheating and, 197–98
Zinsser, William, 214