The Philadelphia sheriff’s team posted a series of flattering but false headlines on his campaign website — then issued a nonchalant denial when his fake news scheme was exposed.
Democrat Rochelle Bilal’s first term was marred by accusations that her office lost dozens of firearms, tried to misuse funds to double her salary and hired a top deputy who became a defense attorney — but visitors to her campaign website were greeted with glowing headlines about her accomplishments.
The only problem is: the article doesn’t exist, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The headlines were supposed to come from reputable local outlets like NBC10, CBS3, WHYY and the Inquirer, but they were removed from the site Friday after the newspaper reached out for comment because it could not verify any of the headlines as authentic. said the report.
By Monday afternoon, the campaign had reposted the correct headline to its website, accompanied by a disclaimer saying that it makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, appropriateness or availability with respect to website or information provided.”
Only three of the items – all press releases from the sheriff’s office – have clickable links.
The bogus article name combined with the supposed publication outlet did not appear on Google News — as legitimate archival digital articles should — when searched by The Post.
Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal’s campaign website is filled with dozens of free fake news headlines. AP
An NBC10 spokesperson reportedly said that none of the 12 articles that should have been credited to the outlet were about “his November 2019 election, police reform initiatives, free gun lock distributions, suspension of deportations during the COVID-19 pandemic, or tips for domestic abuse survivors ,” is available by digital editors.
Stories that did not match the content of articles promoted by the campaign site had different titles and publication dates, according to the report.
Bilal did not respond to a request for comment from the newspaper, and his spokesman said the issue should be addressed by his campaign manager. But the spokeswoman was reportedly unable to identify the manager.
Bilal’s office and campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Post.
The watchdog hypothesizes that the campaign has used artificial intelligence to fabricate headlines, which they say could cause the public to become more distrustful of both elected officials and the media.
Voters bombarded with fake news “just assume it’s all lies,” Peter Loge, who heads the Ethics in Political Communication Project at George Washington University, told the outlet.
“That’s dangerous.”
After a scathing report in The Philadelphia Inquirer, the site simply added a disclaimer stating that it cannot guarantee the “completeness, accuracy” or “reliability” of the fake content. AP
“You just keep spewing things out and it wears people out and they don’t know what to believe,” Matthew Jordan, professor of media studies and director of Penn State’s News Literacy Initiative, told the Inquirer.
“This works in that kind of environment, where people are exhausted and nobody’s going to check anymore,” Jordan said. “Most people probably see this on their phone and just scroll along.”
Most of the discarded headlines have an element of truth and appear to be credible, according to the newspaper.
A fake WHYY headline with a publication date of March 16, 2020 reportedly read, “Philly Sheriff’s Office Announces Temporary Halt of Evictions Amid Coronavirus Pandemic.”
A day earlier, the outlet had published a story titled “Philadelphia halts deportations as coronavirus wins,” but Bilal or his office were not mentioned in it, according to the report.
“That’s how misinformation works,” Kelly McBride, who chairs the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership at the Poynter Institute, told the newspaper. “It must be believable. It must make sense. That’s what’s so sneaky about it.”
Other articles appear to be complete works of fiction, including a supposed January 29, 2020 Inquirer article titled: “Phily sheriff’s office to digitize sheriff’s sale process, reduce confusion and fraud.”
The newspaper said it did not publish any sheets on Bilal or his office on or around that date.
The top Google News search hits about Rochelle Bilal are far from flattering. They include Monday’s Inquirer revelations and a 2023 report about dozens of firearms missing from his office, the FBI’s questioning of his staff and his denial of misappropriation of funds amid his controversial attempt to raise his salary.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
