fake news

[ feyk nooz, nyooz ]

noun

1. false news stories, often of a sensational nature, created to be widely shared or distributed for the purpose of generating revenue, or promoting or discrediting a public figure, political movement, company, etc.:

   It’s impossible to avoid clickbait and fake news on social media.

2. a parody that presents current events or other news topics for humorous effect in an obviously satirical imitation of journalism:

   The website publishes fake news that is hilarious and surprisingly insightful.

3. Sometimes Facetious. (used as a conversational tactic to dispute or discredit information that is perceived as hostile or unflattering):

   The senator insisted that recent polls forecasting an election loss were just fake news.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fake news¹

First recorded in 1800–20 in the sense “false news, spurious news”; the current sense was first recorded in 2010–15

Example Sentences

“Weaving” through an imagined assassination scenario, Trump explained that political violence sometimes has an unexpected upside: “To get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news, and I don’t mind that so much.”

From Salon

From fake news to fake meat, algorithms to augmented reality, Lizzie O’Leary is your guide to the tech industry and the world it’s creating for us to live in.

From Slate

A federal judge in Texas ordered a hearing into how the Onion won the bidding after Jones and his lawyers raised questions about how the auction was conducted, but not before the Onion shut down Infowars in preparation for its grand transformation from a hateful fake news empire to a parody of a hateful fake news empire.

From Los Angeles Times

From fake news to fake meat, algorithms to augmented reality, Lizzie O’Leary is your guide to the tech industry and the world it’s creating for us to live in.

From Slate

He routinely called us “fake news” and insulted us.

From Salon