Clickbait for fake news on Jacksonville.com? Sad but true.

I don’t routinely browse  Jacksonville.com because I get the print version of the Times-Union every morning at the end of my driveway. On Saturday, September 2^nd, I took a look at the online version because I wanted to share Richard Cuff’s intelligent letter about the controversy pertaining to Confederate monuments.

When I got to Richard's letter at Jacksonville.com, I saw an ad at the top of the right column which was clickbait for a fake news story about HGTV star Joanna Gaines leaving Fixer Upper and going into the cosmetics business. Having written a blog post about this fake news story, I was familiar with it.

Face Cream Fiasco and Fake Celebrity Endorsements: Is Joanna Gaines really going into the cosmetics business?

Upon reloading Richard Cuff’s letter to the editor, a banner ad for the fake news story appeared at the top of the page. As a legitimate news organization, it seems like the Times-Union should be able to keep clickbait for fake news from appearing on its website. People and organizations that help to spread fake news are part of the problem. I’ve sent a letter to the editor about this, but have yet to hear anything back about it.

Do you think news organizations like the Florida Times-Union should keep ads for fake news stories off their websites?

Are you comfortable sharing articles from organizations that sometimes help to spread fake news?

#FakeNews #JoannaGaines #FixerUpper

Face Cream Fiasco and Fake Celebrity Endorsements: Are Joanna Gaines, Priscilla Chan, Jill Rhodes, Victoria O'Steen, and the Obamas really going into the cosmetics business?

Update: Since I wrote this post last Spring, new victims of the face cream scam have emerged. They include Barack and Michelle Obama, Victoria O'Steen, Jill Rhodes (wife of Sean Hannity), and Priscilla Chan (wife of Mark Zuckerberg). Even though these celebrities have substantial  resources to fight back against the fraud that is being perpetrated in their names, they evidently couldn't prevent it from happening in the first place. Furthermore, it appears that putting a stop to it isn't easy. The face cream scammers are very slick indeed!
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Since April, a story has been circulating that Joanna Gaines of the HGTV hit show Fixer Upper is quitting the show and leaving her husband to go into the cosmetics business. On April 17^th, she wrote a blog post titled Don’t Believe Everything You Read.

“Always remember: if you’re reading big, exciting news about us, and we did not confirm it on our official sites, then proceed with caution. We are so thankful for your support—we wouldn’t be here without you! And just in case you were wondering, YES! We are currently filming season 5 of the show. No! I am not getting into the business of facial creams. And No! We are not expecting baby #5. And no worries, believing some of these stories happens to the best of us. In summary, don’t buy the facial cream, friends.” Joanna Gaines