[otterley]

Fake News was a term invented around 2015 during the run-up to the 2016 election. It specifically referred to the phenomenon of literally fake news stories, such as rallies and completely false stories about politicians, being published by legitimate-sounding but nonexistent news organizations, using platforms like Facebook to disseminate themselves. Usually these were done from China and Russia.

[will4274]

You're as silly as those people who claim that male and female refer exclusively to sex but not gender. Terms change in meaning and fake news is widely used to refer to false news stories, regardless of reason. You have to accept the way everybody else is using the word.

[otterley]

So, what do you recommend calling what used to be called fake news? And how we ensure that the its replacement isn't co-opted for malicious purposes again?

[empath75]

And then trump redefined it to be about legitimate news sources exclusively. We’ve really been in upside down world for four years.

[otterley]

That's one of the reasons why I bring it up. If we don't stand against this dilution of a powerful term, it will be co-opted - which is exactly what people who want to destroy the trust of the press for their own personal and political ends want to do.