That’s What You Said

Perhaps the most famous catch phrase of Donald Trump’s presidency was his use of the term “fake news.” Entertaining, effective, and infuriating to its targets as it was, it also provided a road map for conservatives to stack up future victories in the national debate. But have they picked up on it? Not yet.

The movement to frame censorship as a battle against “fake news” supposedly dished out by conservative sources, as initially reported by independent journalist Sharyl Attkisson, coalesced in September 2016 when a nonprofit called First Draft used the term in an article, claiming, “Today, malicious hoaxes and fake news reports are published in increasingly convincing and sophisticated ways.” In October, then-president Barack Obama gave a speech in Pittsburgh where he decried the current media climate that allowed anyone a voice on digital platforms: “We are going to have to rebuild within this wild, wild west of information flow some sort of curating function that people agree to.”

MORE