Many people consider the phrase fake news to be outdated. This is because the term has been used often in order to politically belittle the arguments of others. However, because it still is used in some contexts, we will include and discuss the term here.
As with so many terms surrounding mis- and disinformation, it is hard to find a universally-accepted definition of fake news, but there are some characteristics that all fake news generally has:
(For definitions, see Some Key Terms for the Savvy Searcher on this page.)
Why should you care about whether or not your news is real or fake?
Source: “News You Can Use | Reality Check” by Media Smarts: “Online news is one of the hardest things to verify. Sometimes early reports that turn out not to be true still circulate on the Internet, and people may spread false reports for commercial or malicious reasons, or even just for ‘fun.’ Here are three tips to help make you a savvy reader – and sharer – of online news.” (description from Media Smarts YouTube site)
| term | definition | source |
| bias | a) an inclination of temperament or outlook; especially: a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment : PREJUDICE; b) an instance of such prejudice |
Merriam- Webster Dictionary |
| clickbait | an internet story, title, image, etc. that is intended to attract attention and encourage people to click on a link | Cambridge Dictionary |
| confirmation bias | people’s tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs. | Britannica |
| crisis actor |
a professional or volunteer actor who plays a role in a staged drill in order to prepare or train first responders for a specific emergency scenario; or (in a false flag conspiracy theory) a person pretending to be a victim in a hoax attack. |
Dictionary.com |
| deepfake | any of various media, esp. a video, that has been digitally manipulated to replace one person's likeness convincingly with that of another, often used maliciously to show someone doing something that he or she did not do. | Oxford Languages |
| disinformation | deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda | Dictionary.com |
| filter bubble | an environment and especially an online environment in which people are exposed only to opinions and information that conform to their existing beliefs | Merriam- Webster Dictionary |
| go viral | if a video, image, or story goes viral, it spreads quickly and widely on the internet through social media and email. | Collins Dictionary |
| misinformation | incorrect or misleading information | Merriam- Webster Dictionary |
| parody | a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule | Merriam- Webster Dictionary |
| satire | a poem or (in later use) a novel, film, or other work of art which uses humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize prevailing immorality or foolishness, esp. as a form of social or political commentary. | Oxford Languages |
| troll | a troll is Internet slang for a person who intentionally tries to instigate conflict, hostility, or arguments in an online social community. | GCF Global |
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