It's something that's come to be reviled, the very thing that may have cost America a presidential election -- fake news.
And the horrible phenomenon that's been called out by everyone from former President Barack Obama to Apple CEO Tim Cook now has a video game all about it.
Yes, you can actually climb inside the minds of real-life humans who distribute lies for money. Fake It to Make It describes itself as "a social impact game about fake news."
By that definition, it's less a celebration of fake news and more a socially conscious dissection of it. Well, that's at least what it's intended to be, as its creator Amanda Warner explains.
SEE ALSO:BBC announces Santa isn't real, later apologises for fake news"I think that better understanding how and why we are manipulated by others, for profit or power, is worthwhile knowledge to have," she told The Verge.
The game takes you through a journey that mirrors the stories of real-life fake news creators. For instance, it starts by asking you to choose a purchase you want to make, like a $1,000 used car or $400 for a deposit on an apartment (deals we think questionably exist IRL).
Credit: fakeittomakeitgame.comBasically, you're trying to make ends meet the same way actual fake news creators do, like the two guys in Long Beach, California, who started a fake news site called Liberty News Writers.
They were unemployed restaurant workers before they started cashing in on headlines like "OBAMA BIRTH SECRETS REVEALED! The Letters From His Dad Reveal Something Sinister..." amid the 2016 presidential election.
Aimed at Trump supporters, a more recent headline on their site read "President Trump Just Unleashed His New SECRET WEAPON! Democrats Are MORTIFIED!"
Once you get started on Fake It to Make It, you get a crash course in collecting and creating the fake news.
"You will be making money by creating news sites and profiting when people view and click on ads on your site," the game explains. "It's pretty easy as long as you can generate enough traffic."
"You might not care about American politics, but you can still use its drama to profit!"
It then explains that you'll be writing about American politics, since views and clicks in this country are "paid at a higher rate than in other countries."
"You might not care about American politics, but you can still use its drama to profit!" the game beams with enthusiasm.
Bizarrely, it then goes into instructions about creating site domains and even coming up with a new title for that up-and-coming fake news site. Some random suggestions include "American News" and "Communal Periodical" or even the more cringe-worthy "Nationalist Weekly" and "Patriot Scandal Sheet." You get a breakdown of the finances of your new burgeoning business along with a so-called "credibility" ranking.
At the top right corner of the screen is a little piggy bank image and the amount of money you have (we started with $50) with a link that says "Show Expenses." Right next to that is an image of the thing you want to buy -- we chose a car -- and a statement saying what percentage of your total goal you have so far (we still have just 5 percent of our $1,000 car goal).
It all makes for a pretty detailed look at what fake news creators do, and really, why they do it. Such a set-up feels sympathetic and almost encouraging of the fake news debacle rather than critical of it. You learn to steal and sensationalize what's found on other sites or create fabricated stories of your own, and all in the name of cash.
But, as you learn the art of clickbait deceit, there's the hoped-for possibility that you'll see the dark side. It's not just the lying, but also shady tactics like taking personal information or installing malware that come up later in the game, as The Vergereports.
Those realities are what face people who make fake news IRL, so it's something that the game's creator thinks users should know about. And hopefully somehow learn from.
"I think the potential for positive change in players is worth it," Warner told The Verge.
Well, changing attitudes would be a much cooler result than a whole new gang of fake news creators.
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