THE GODFATHER OF FAKE NEWS

Christopher Blair has been called the Godfather of Fake News. He's an American troll. And whether you realized it or not, you've probably unknowingly read a fake news article that he's written, cooked up on his computer in rural Maine.

Christopher Blair has been called the Godfather of Fake News. He's an American troll. And whether you realized it or not, you've probably unknowingly read a fake news article that he's written. So we traveled to meet him, to understand how one man makes a living by deceiving gullible people on Facebook — and the effect that his trolling has on democracy.

Featured on this episode: Christopher Blair and Anisa Subedar.

UPDATE:

Since the episode was released on March 5, 2020, Christopher Blair got in touch with some concerns about omissions in the episode. In particular, there are two aspects that he took issue with. First, Chris did not simply quit his construction job to write fake news for a quick buck. Instead, he built a successful career with liberal blogging (along with Alan Colmes), and then eventually decided to start writing satire/fake news. Brian regrets the confusion. Second, Chris argues that more attention should have been paid to his work on fact-checking, particularly of Macedonian/Russian/Pakistani misinformation networks. Any podcast episode has to make editorial decisions about what to include and not include. Those decisions are often difficult. But given that we are committed to accuracy and fairness as a podcast, the entire e-mail from Chris is below. You can read it for yourself. Thanks for listening.

First of all, thank you for your interest in my story. I appreciate how much time you've both given to allowing my side of the story to be heard. That being said, there's one point in particular that I'm extremely disappointed about: The timeline.

Anisa first reported in the original "Godfather of Fake News" story that I quit my job in 2014 because it was taking a physical toll and I learned that I could make a lot of money selling fake news. I attempted to correct that and was told it would be corrected, and it never was. I did go through the entire timeline with Brian in the latest interview, but it was left out other than a vague mention of blogging, which sounded like blogging referred to fake news.

That's not how any of this happened. Let me, once again, try to clear this up:

I worked construction all my life. In 2014, while still working construction, I was published by Alan Colmes after gaining notoriety as a liberal troll. That led to a job with Addicting Info, a far-left blog. In the summer of 2015, that career was making me enough money to finally give up construction. I continued to write in that capacity until late 2016, when I started trying my hand at what I call satire and you call fake news. It was very successful. Over the next year or so, I transitioned from liberal blogging to satire. 

At no time did I ever "quit my job to write fake news" for cash. That narrative, unfortunately, led to Anisa's conclusion in the podcast that ultimately, I do this because I have no other way to support my family. I do not. In 2018, when Facebook killed online publishing, I moved into content writing and editing and made every bit as much money doing that. The trolling continued, in the form of memes, because memes still had reach. I made zero money from "fake news" for nearly 8 months. I'm an accomplished writer and editor with an impressive resume outside of the troll world. I can move back to doing that any time I want. I don't do this because I need it to support my family. I choose to do it with the support of my family. Big difference. 

I covered all of this. I understand that the ominous feel of the podcast requires a villain. I wasn't expecting a fluff piece. I didn't think such an important aspect would be not just left out, but twisted into a conclusion that is simply not true. I understand that you're entitled to your opinions. I respect that. I think it would have been much harder to come to that conclusion had the entirety of the timeline been presented correctly.

This has been a thorn in my side for years. Nobody, and I mean nobody, seems to be able to tell the entire story with accurate information. And I'm the fake news guy.

I also find it disturbing that the work we do with fact-checkers to combat Russian, Macedonian, and Pakistani misinformation networks got about 10 seconds of attention. I am, once again, the villain, selling fake news to millions, "perhaps billions," of unwitting people. Again, I understand that what I do is controversial, but come on. Aside from the Fonzie death hoax, nothing we've ever written gets shared outside of extremist circles. There are 30 million Americans who fit into that category. Yes, I refuse to believe that I'm adding to their overall hate and ignorance. I offer the only accountability they ever see, and I do it within their own echo chamber.

— Christopher Blair