Article

What is Fake News?

by Romy Jaster, David Lanius

in Versus n. 127, Fake News, Misinformation/Disinformation, Post-Truth, pp.207-224

Abstract (english)

Recently, the term "fake news" has become ubiquitous in political and public discourse and the media. Despite its omnipresence, however, it is anything but clear what fake news is. An adequate and comprehensive definition of fake news is called for. We take steps towards this goal by providing a systematic account of fake news that makes the phenomenon tangible, rehabilitates the use of the term, and helps us to set fake news apart from related phenomena.