Christopher Blair, a well-known “liberal troll” who shares fake news on Facebook, has been having a successful year despite efforts by Facebook to crack down on misinformation and increased competition from artificial intelligence. Blair, who operates a satirical Facebook group from his home in Maine, has seen a surge in engagement on his false posts, with 7.2 million interactions already this year compared to one million in all of 2021.
After the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters in January 2021, Facebook made changes to its algorithm to limit the spread of political content, including fake news. This caused a significant drop in engagement for Blair, but he has since adapted by shifting his focus away from political figures and towards topics like Hollywood elites and social justice issues. For example, when actor Robert De Niro criticized former President Trump outside a Manhattan courthouse, Blair quickly posted a false story claiming a conservative actor had called De Niro “horrible” and “ungodly,” which garnered nearly 20,000 shares.
Despite the challenges posed by Facebook’s algorithm changes, Blair has managed to revive his fake news empire by tapping into divisive cultural topics. His success highlights the ongoing struggle to combat misinformation on social media platforms, as individuals like Blair continue to find ways to reach and influence large audiences online. As Facebook and other platforms work to address the spread of fake news, it is clear that the battle against misinformation is far from over.