billion visits per month to its site. at this point the algorithms these platforms use kick in. the ads you see next to a fake news story aren't placed there by the advertiser, facebook, google and others determine the ads you see when you click on a fake story. with no actual human oversight, it's an automated form of advertising that rewards high traffic to fake news sites rather than good content or accuracy. one well-known hoax publisher claimed to make up to $10,000 a month on fake news ad revenue alone. it's easy to see why. americans trust and confidence in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly has sunk to a new low according to a 2016 gallup poll. 32% of people surveyed said they had a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media compared to 40% in 2015. according to a 2016 pew research survey, 62% of adults say they