“Fake news” was relatively unheard of last year—until the U.S. election campaign period started, during which an explosion of misinformation campaigns trended. But despite its seemingly rampant spread, fake news is just one facet of public opinion manipulation and cyber propaganda that we see today. Whether it’s a company trying to promote a brand or a political party pushing an ideal, today’s information wars are often for control of the public’s worldview.

Our latest research paper, “The Fake News Machine: How Propagandists Abuse the Internet and Manipulate the Public”, delves into this phenomenon. It also tackles how a group with means and motivations, use of social media, and online promotion tools and services can effectively spread these campaigns. These are the components of what we call the “Fake News Triangle”, which we’ve found to be the pillars of success for any fake news and public opinion manipulation campaign.