The content in this guide was modeled after a guide that was originally created by Research & Learning Services, Olin Library, Cornell University Library, Ithaca, NY, USA and has been adapted for the NWP Learning Commons in September 2020. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY NC SA 4.0 International License.
"Fake news" is a "work of fiction that is presented as a factual news story, often with the intent of deceiving the reader into believing it is factual and enticing them to share it." Fake news has been around since at least the early nineteenth century, but awareness of this phenomenon increased during the 2016 US presidential election. "This phenomenon was linked to both foreign and domestic hoaxers operating particularly on social media, for monetary gain and political reasons." No matter where it is coming from or what the intent of the information is, "the growth of fake news has a serious cultural impact."
Quotes rom DiLascio-Martinuk, T. M. (2019). Fake News: Overview. Salem Press Encyclopedia (paras. 6, 2).
Other Important Terms
Biased news: A way of reporting on a factual news story that is designed to sway a reader toward a specific conclusion. This differs from fake news because the underlying facts are true but may be presented selectively or misleadingly to encourage the reader to think a particular way.
Clickbait: A term used to describe articles, either real or fake, that have attention-grabbing headlines and intentionally inflammatory content, designed to entice readers to click on the article and share the content.
Confirmation bias: A tendency of people to seek out and trust sources that affirm a belief they already hold and to distrust sources that contradict their existing beliefs.
From DiLascio-Martinuk, T. M. (2019). Fake News: Overview. Salem Press Encyclopedia (paras. 3, 4, 5).