Fake news

Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news is also known as prototype news, junk news, pseudo-news, alternative facts or hoax news.^[1][2]

Trump using the phrase

It is a form of news made up of misinformation, hoaxes or outright lies spread through large news media (print and broadcast) or online social media.^[3]

In many cases, fake news is spread on purpose.^[4] The term was used and made popular by American President Donald Trump.^[5]

Although false news has always been spread throughout history, the term "fake news" was first used in the 1890s when sensational reports in newspapers were common in the U.S.A.^[6][7]

One reason fake news is more common today is that various websites pay for contributions according to the number of views. It stands to reason that a sensational claim will get more views than a correct but boring statement. Thus contributors are paid more for invented controversy than true non-sensational facts. This amounts to a premium payment for lies over truth.

References

1. Bartolotta, Devin (9 December 2016), "Hillary Clinton warns about hoax news on social media", WJZ-TV, retrieved 11 December 2016
2. Wemple, Erik (8 December 2016), "Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg says people don't want 'hoax' news. Really?", The Washington Post, retrieved 11 December 2016
3. Tufekci, Zeynep (January 16, 2018). "It's the (Democracy-Poisoning) Golden Age of Free Speech". Wired.
4. Leonhardt, David; Thompson, Stuart A. (June 23, 2017). "Trump's Lies". New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
5. Murphy, Jennifer. "Library Guides: Evaluating Information: Fake news in the 2016 US Elections". libraryguides.vu.edu.au. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
6. "The real story of 'fake news': The term seems to have emerged around the end of the 19th century". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
7. Soll, Jacob (December 18, 2016). "The long and brutal history of fake news". Politico Magazine. Retrieved March 25, 2019.