Research shows that Americans put their trust in local news more than national outlets, but this belief system can also be a downfall with the rise of imposter sites.
A recent Senate Intelligence report found 54 imposter accounts on Twitter that published more than 500,000 tweets. The fake local news accounts sent users to articles with polarizing topics.
“It’s much harder now to grab people’s attention,” said Ross Benes, an analyst with eMarketer. “To reach through the clutter, you need a lot of data. But finding the balance is the trick — you shouldn’t have to read through 80,000 words of legalese when you sign up for a streaming service.”