Moon of Alabama — When AP Spreads #Fakenews - A Forensic Appraisal

I would not call this an example of fake news, even though it amount to misreporting. I would call it unprofessional reporting that is sloppy and overlooks nuance. To the degree that it misrepresents what the official Russian reports from the Ministry of Defense and state media actually said.  

However, Defense Minister Shoygu did report to President Putin on it, so it can be inferred that while not confirming the new, the ministry and intel services have "high confidence" in it. So calling the AP report "fake news" might be excessive.

Journalistic unprofessionalism is becoming typical the US media where headlines are often misleading based on the rest of the article. Moreover, it is common knowledge in the profession that most people only read the headline and maybe the lede. Very few read the whole article, so the qualifiers, if any, are buried at the end.

In addition , articles are often written to support the headline with the argument is not supported by the facts, which are easily checkable with an Internet search.

Moreover, there is a also a deficit of critical thinking among the public, so unprofessional, slanted (spun) reporting, and even fake news go unchallenged, and many people form their opinions based on false information.

This is an issue not only with respect to politics, but also many other important aspects of life. Medical reporting is especially bad, for example, and in some cases promotes what amounts to quackery. In some cases, advertising is disguised as news.

I suspect that there are several factors leading to this. The first is the sensationalism of journalism after the success of the Murdoch model that brought the tabloid model of sensationalism into the mainstream.

The second is the spread of unprofessionalism in journalism as the standards relaxed.

 Thirdly, advertisers play an increasingly important role, owing to the way media are now financed by ad revenue rather than subscriptions. 

Fourthly, groupthink. 

Fifth, the infiltration of propaganda into the news.

The result is a media that cannot be trusted to report accurately and comprehensively, which is in essence b's conclusion in the post.

Moon of Alabama

When AP Spreads #Fakenews - A Forensic Appraisal

b

Here is some real fake news fresh from The Independent and exposed by Russia Insider.

Russia Insider
Does Russia Force Underage Girls to Take Virginity Tests? Western Media Says 'Yes', Reality Says 'Nope'
RI Staff

See also

Investigative Journalist David Sirota discusses the media's role in the time of Trump, and holding Democrats accountable while Republicans are in power

TRRN
David Sirota Discusses the Role of Journalism In the Trump Resistance