The review analyzes Real Raw News, a popular conspiracy theory website, examining its content, appeal, and implications in the context of modern media consumption and AI technology. Longer summary

This book review analyzes the website Real Raw News, a popular source of conspiracy theories and fake news stories centered around Donald Trump and his alleged secret war against the 'Deep State'. The reviewer examines the site's content, its narrative techniques, and its appeal to believers, drawing parallels to comic book lore and discussing the psychological needs it fulfills. The review also considers the broader implications of such conspiracy theories in the age of AI-generated content. Shorter summary

Scott proposes using prediction markets to fund investigative journalism, potentially solving the issue of funding quality reporting in the digital age. Longer summary

Scott Alexander proposes using prediction markets to fund investigative reporting, inspired by Hindenburg Research's model of profiting from exposing corporate fraud. He argues that this could solve the problem of funding investigative journalism in the age of unbundled media. The post explores how this might work for political reporting and even for less quantifiable issues like exposing discrimination in institutions. Scott acknowledges potential challenges but suggests that creating more specific prediction markets could address these. He concludes that this system, while unusual, could incentivize truthful reporting and separate serious journalism from 'infotainment'. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander introduces the 'North Dakota Constant' to explain why about 33% of people tend to believe in conspiracy theories in surveys, regardless of evidence. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the prevalence of belief in conspiracy theories, introducing the concept of a 'North Dakota Constant' of about 33% - the percentage of people who will believe in a conspiracy theory without any supporting evidence. He compares this to the previously established 'Lizardman Constant' of 4%. The post analyzes survey data on beliefs in various conspiracy theories, including Pizzagate and Obama's birthplace, arguing that the seemingly high percentages of belief might be more reflective of this constant rather than actual widespread acceptance of these theories. Scott suggests that factors like the absence of 'don't know' options in surveys, low-information voters, and pre-existing biases might contribute to these results. He concludes that we should be cautious about drawing strong conclusions from such survey data, especially when the percentage of believers is close to 33%. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the impact of media coverage on fringe beliefs like creationism, suggesting that reduced coverage doesn't necessarily lead to their spread. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the dilemma faced by news organizations in reporting on 'stupid things', using creationism as a case study. He notes that while media coverage of creationism has declined significantly since the 2000s, the percentage of Americans believing in creationism has remained relatively stable. Organizations promoting creationism are still active, but receive far less attention. Scott suggests that this experience with creationism might indicate that aggressive media coverage and extreme measures to combat fringe beliefs (like Pizzagate or QAnon) may be unnecessary or even counterproductive. Shorter summary