Inside the Macedonian Fake-News Analysis by Samanth Subramanian

            Samanth Subramanian writes about the incidence of Macedonian Teens making money by creating fake news. In “Inside the Macedonian Fake-News Complex”, Subramanian conveys that the Internet is dangerous using pathos, ethos, and logos. In the beginning of the essay, the author emphasizes how Boris is oblivious to the effects of what the internet can do. For example, Subramanian bolds the introducing story of Boris posting fake news on the internet just for the sake of needing to upload an article onto his website. She writes, “He posted the link on Facebook, sending it to within various groups devoted to American politics; to his astonishment, it was shared around 800 times. This portrays his initial oblivion to the start of his new money making career. The author also promotes ethos to her audience through her narration-like descriptions of Boris. She states, “Boris is 18 years old, a lean, slouching youth with grey eyes, hair mowed to his skull, and the rudiments of his beard,” almost as if she knows him on a more personal level. Subramanian continues to portray that desperateness leads to oblivion through her use of pathos. The author inserts pictures within the essay to show the readers the condition of Macedonia. Picture 1 shows the central market in Veles, and describes that the town’s economy declined throughout the 1990’s. Picture 2 shows a tiny room that broadcasted basketball and handball games. Currently, operators of sports events are depicted as prosperous, but the pictures show otherwise within this town. This results in teens almost given an excuse to upload fake news in order to make money. Furthermore, Subramanian supports her claim utilizing logistics, such as a bar graph, that portrays the dangers of faulty advertisements that are easily trusted. According to the graph, 82% of people trust their local news, 77% of people trust their friends and family, 76% of people trust national news, and 34% of people trust social media. However, Subramanian is claiming that no news source should be trusted. People should not trust any sort of news that is on the Internet because it is so easy to make stories up. Subramanian’s audience is mostly intended for Internet users, and her purpose is to inform them that everything on the Internet is not true. It is dangerous, especially when one is oblivious to it.