Donald Trump writes misleading tweet, but that's not the scary part

Every president needs a fact-checker -- perhaps none more than President-elect Donald Trump.

On Thursday, Trump went on Twitter and claimed that, thanks to his advocacy, Ford would no longer be moving its plant to Mexico. His claim was later challenged by established media outlets (The Washington Post, The New York Times) but not before it was shared elsewhere under misleading headlines (as in The Washington Examiner) and on conservative fake news sites everywhere.

In the tweet, Trump claimed credit for helping to keep a Ford plant in the United States:

Yet earlier this week, Ford revealed that Trump's election didn't change the company's plans. The company would instead be keeping its factory in Kentucky and expanding production to Mexico, where it plans to move production of Ford Focuses. Previously, Ford claimed it had no intention of closing plants in the United States.

Even though Trump's tweet was later challenged, the damage was already done. The Examiner published a headline that looked like this:

And from Reuters:

Reuters' full story later debunked Trump's initial claim. But the headline caught on, and conservative fake news sites spread Trump's claim like wildfire.

From the headlines:

"Donald Trump claims credit for keeping auto production in Kentucky" -- Breitbart

"More winning--Ford CEO calls Donald Trump: Lincoln Plant will stay in Kentucky -- Infowars

"Remember how Trump threatened Ford? Well look at the huge announcement they just made" -- The Conservative Tribune

A report released on Buzzfeed Wednesday found that fake news outperformed real news on Facebook in the final months of the election. Fake news stories had more engagement than stories from the top 19 major news outlets combined.

For many journalists and social outlets, it's no longer just just about reporting the facts. It's also about making sure the false ones don't get spread.