Fake News: Glossary & Resources: Home

The term "alternative fact" gained media attention on January 22, 2017, when Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, appeared on the NBC television news program Meet the Press. When asked why White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had falsely described the crowd at President Trump's swearing-in ceremony as "the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration," Ms. Conway stated that Mr. Spicer's comments were not falsehoods, but "alternative facts."

According to Merriam-Webster, "a fact is generally understood to refer to something with actual existence, or presented as having objective reality."

In response to Ms. Conway, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd maintained that "alternative facts are not facts — they're falsehoods."

See also Newspeak, because the media were quick to characterize Ms. Conway's use of the term "alternative facts" as "Newspeak," a reference to George Orwell's novel 1984, about a totalitarian state that manipulates language to assert control over the public.

Evidence based on theory, opinion, or informal observation rather than systematic research. Whereas empirical evidence is evidence based on facts obtained through scientific observation, investigation, or experimentation.

"...the attempt to create an impression of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or product, where little such support exists. Multiple online identities and fake pressure groups are used to mislead the public into believing that the position of the astroturfer is the commonly held view." (The Guardian)

"A particular tendency, trend, inclination, feeling, or opinion, especially one that is preconceived or unreasoned; Unreasonably hostile feelings or opinions about a social group; Prejudice" (Dictionary.com).
See also confirmation bias

See shallowfake

According to scienceornot.net, cherry picking occurs when "people use legitimate evidence, but not all of the evidence. They select segments of evidence that appear to support their argument and hide or ignore the rest of the evidence which tends to refute it."

As explained in the TEDEd video How False News Can Spread, circular reporting occurs "when publication A publishes misinformation, publication B reprints it, and publication A then cites B as the source for the information. It's also considered a form of circular reporting when multiple publications report on the same initial piece of false information, which then appears to another author as having been verified by multiple sources."

"Something (such as a headline) designed to make readers want to click on a hyperlink especially when the link leads to content of dubious value or interest" (Merriam-Webster).

This New Yorker article, "How Headlines Change the Way We Think," explains how the wording of a link can affect our ability to evaluate its content.
See also sharebait

"An expression of opinions or offering of explanations about an event or situation" (Oxford Languages).

As consumers of news, it's important that we understand the difference between commentary and reporting. As this article from The Rocky Mountain Collegian explains, "reporters are expected to seek the truth and report it, usually as it happens or shortly after it happens. They must, therefore, find as many aspects of a story as they can. If there is a conflict (and usually there is) they must fairly represent both sides of that conflict where possible. ... For columnists [i.e. commentators], the news has already been reported and our job is to provide our perspective on it. ... We take sides because that is what we are supposed to do."
See also editorial, op-ed, opinion piece

According to Psychology Today, "confirmation bias occurs from the direct influence of desire on beliefs. When people would like a certain idea/concept to be true, they end up believing it to be true."

As explained in the video Defining Confirmation Bias, people have a tendency "to accept information unquestioningly when it reinforces some existing belief or attitude," even when presented with contradicting proof.

You can never get rid of all of your biases, but you can actively seek out other points of view. Watch 5 Ways to Beat Confirmation Bias and Why Do Our Brains Love Fake News? to learn more.

"A theory that explains an event as being the result of a plot by a covert group or organization; A belief that a particular unexplained event was caused by such a group; The idea that many important political events or economic and social trends are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public" (Dictionary.com).

This Scientific American article summarizes the findings of two University of Miami researchers seeking to understand why people believe in conspiracy theories.

First coined by user experience specialist Harry Brignull, the term "dark pattern" refers to an intentionally deceptive design interface that tricks users into doing things they didn't mean to do, and obscures certain information to make it difficult for users to find. According to TechCrunch, dark pattern technique "often feeds off and exploits the fact that content-overloaded consumers skim-read stuff they’re presented with, especially if it looks dull and they’re in the midst of trying to do something else — like sign up to a service, complete a purchase, get to something they actually want to look at, or find out what their friends have sent them."

See Brignull's website Deceptive Patterns for more information.

A video that uses an artificial intelligence application to superimpose one person's face onto another person's body, typically for the purpose of celebrity parody or "revenge porn."

On April 17, 2018, BuzzFeed News tweeted a deepfake video of film director Jordan Peele's digitally altered portrayal of President Obama to demonstrate how deceptive this technology can be.
See also shallowfake

As explained in this Gizmodo article, a digital fossil is "an error that gets preserved in the layers of AI training data and pops up unexpectedly in future outputs."

"The ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills" (American Library Association).

Digital literacy is sometimes described as encompassing multiple literacies, including information literacy and media literacy. This Education Week article explains why the term "digital literacy" can be so confusing, and why and how it continues to evolve.

"The deliberate creation and/or sharing of false information in order to mislead" (CBC).

Disinformation should not be confused with malinformation (genuine information shared with an intent to cause harm) or misinformation (false information shared by those who believe it to be true).

See filter bubble

"An article in a newspaper or other periodical or on a website presenting the opinion of the publisher, writer, or editor; A statement broadcast on radio or television that presents the opinion of the owner, manager, or the like, of the program, station, or channel" (Dictionary.com).
See also commentary, op-ed, opinion piece

Evidence based on facts obtained through scientific observation, investigation, or experimentation. Whereas anecdotal evidence is evidence based on theory, opinion, or informal observation rather than systematic research.

"A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing" (Oxford Reference).

During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, for example, many news organizations began struggling with the use of the term "alt-right," which critics contend is a euphemism for terms such as neo-Nazi or white supremacist.

"Something that has actual existence; An actual occurrence; A piece of information presented as having objective reality; Something that really exists or has occurred" (Merriam-Webster).

News that is "completely made up, manipulated to resemble credible journalism and attract maximum attention and, with it, advertising revenue. ... But the definition is often expanded to include websites that circulate distorted, decontextualised or dubious information through – for example – clickbaiting headlines that don’t reflect the facts of the story, or undeclared bias" (The Guardian).

How does fake news spread on the internet? See Wired Magazine's short video, Here's How Fake News Works (and How the Internet Can Stop It).

"An untrue statement" (Merriam-Webster).

Online services like Google, Amazon, and Netflix, and social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok use computer programming algorithms to determine what information to deliver to you. Your “filter bubble” (a term coined by internet activist Eli Pariser) refers to the idea that this automated personalization, though helpful in some ways, can isolate you from other information. Sometimes referred to as an "echo chamber," the filter bubble created by your online activity can limit your exposure to different points of view and weaken your ability to avoid fake news and bias.

In this now-famous TED Talk, Pariser discusses the effects of algorithms and warns us about the dangers of online filter bubbles.

See How to Pop Your Filter Bubble for some helpful advice.

"An elaborate and insidious technique of deception and psychological manipulation, usually practiced by a single deceiver, or “gaslighter,” on a single victim over an extended period. Its effect is to gradually undermine the victim’s confidence in [their] own ability to distinguish truth from falsehood, right from wrong, or reality from appearance, thereby rendering [them] pathologically dependent on the gaslighter in his thinking or feelings. ... The term is derived from the title of a 1938 British stage play, Gas Light, which was subsequently produced as a film, Gaslight, in the United Kingdom (1940) and the United States (1944)" (Britannica).

Gaslight (1944)

In the context of artificial intelligence, hallucinations occur when "AI algorithms and deep learning neural networks produce outputs that are not real, do not match any data the algorithm has been trained on, or any other identifiable pattern" (Medium).

"Information that you have heard but do not know to be true" (Cambridge Dictionary); A rumor.

"An act that is meant to trick or deceive people; To trick [people] into thinking something is true or real when it isn't" (Merriam-Webster).

Websites like The Museum of Hoaxes and Wikipedia's List of Hoaxes provide examples of history's most famous hoaxes, like the Piltdown Man, the Alien Autopsy, the Balloon Boy, Male Pregnancy, and the Surgeon's Photo of the Loch Ness Monster. (Wait -- you thought that last one was real, didn't you?)

In the early 1920s, this and four other images were widely believed to be photographic proof of the existence of fairies. The Cottingley Fairies remained controversial for decades, until the photographer finally confessed it was a hoax.

"The set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning" (Association of College and Research Libraries).
See also digital literacy, media literacy

"We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely."  --E. O. Wilson

A situation in which you receive too much information at one time and cannot think about it in a clear way" (Cambridge Dictionary).

Is information overload getting you down? Here's some music to help you relax.

"Faulty scientific research, data, and claims created for financial or political gain" (Dictionary.com).
See also pseudoscience

"Mainstream media outlets are found on television, radio, online and in newspapers and other publications. They include TV networks like ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as national news channels like CNN and Fox News. They also include websites like MSNBC and large newspapers like The New York Times and USA Today. Mainstream media sources are usually easy to find, and they reach large audiences" (Houston Chronicle).

"Genuine information that is shared with an intent to cause harm. An example of this is when Russian agents hacked into emails from the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign and leaked certain details to the public to damage reputations" (First Draft [PDF]).

Malinformation should not be confused with disinformation (false information shared with an intent to cause harm) or misinformation (false information shared by those who believe it to be true).

"The ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media. Media literate youth and adults are better able to understand the complex messages we receive from television, radio, Internet, newspapers, magazines, books, billboards, video games, music, and all other forms of media" (Media Literacy Project).
See also digital literacy, information literacy

"An idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from one person to another in a culture; An amusing or interesting picture, video, etc., that is spread widely through the Internet" (The Britannica Dictionary).

"The act of sharing information without realizing it's wrong" (CBC).

Misinformation should not be confused with disinformation (false information shared with an intent to cause harm) or malinformation (genuine information shared with an intent to cause harm).

"Paid advertising where the ad matches the form, feel and function of the content of the media on which it appears" (Native Advertising Institute).

Advertising that "tries to sell or promote a product in the guise of a news story" (Stanford History Education Group [PDF]).
See also sponsored content

"Deliberately ambiguous and contradictory language used to mislead and manipulate the public" (The Free Dictionary).

"The term 'Newspeak' was coined by George Orwell in his 1949 anti-utopian novel 1984 ... [and] was characterized by the elimination or alteration of certain words, the substitution of one word for another, the interchangeability of parts of speech, and the creation of words for political purposes" (Merriam-Webster).

"A newspaper page [or page on a newspaper's website] devoted to signed articles by commentators, essayists, humorists, etc., of varying viewpoints" (Dictionary.com).

Referred to as "op-ed" because in printed newspapers it is typically placed opposite the editorial page.
See also commentary, opinion piece

"An article in which the writer expresses their personal opinion, typically one which is controversial or provocative, about a particular issue or item of news" (Oxford Languages).
See also commentary, editorial, op-ed

"An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect" (Oxford Reference).
See also satire

"A process by which a scholarly work (such as a paper or a research proposal) is checked by a group of experts in the same field to make sure it meets the necessary standards before it is published or accepted" (Merriam-Webster).

An adjective defined as "relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief."

In 2016, post-truth was chosen as the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year.

As explained in the video What Are Primary and Secondary Sources?, "a primary sources is a first-hand account of a topic, generally created by someone who had direct knowledge of the event or topic described, and created during the time period being studied." Primary sources can also be created at a later date by someone who participated in the event. Creative works are also considered primary sources.

Examples include autobiographies, diaries, letters, interviews, speeches, historical documents, newspaper articles from the time of an event, original data, novels, paintings, and other works of art. The video also explains how primary sources differ from secondary sources, which "analyze, interpret, and synthesize primary sources."

Why should you care about primary sources, and what do they have to do with fake news? Have you ever played "Telephone?" It's the game where one person whispers something in another person's ear, and then that person whispers it to someone else, and so on, and by the time it finally gets to the last person, the message is usually very different from the way it started out.

Photo: ElizaC3

Information can get distorted as it moves from one person to another. If you've encountered some information that doesn't seem right to you, it can be helpful to try to find the original source - the primary source. For example, when someone tells you about something they heard the President say in a speech, they're probably giving you their own interpretation of what was said. If you search for a transcript or video of the speech (the primary source), you'll know exactly what was said, and then you can form your own interpretation.

"Information, ideas or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution or nation. It is often biased and misleading, in order to promote an ideology or point of view" (Center for News Literacy).

"A system of theories or assertions about the natural world that claim or appear to be scientific but that, in fact, are not. For example, astronomy is a science, but astrology is generally viewed as a pseudoscience" (Dictionary.com).
See also junk science

"A person who gives opinions in an authoritative manner usually through the mass media" (Merriam-Webster).

"Information or a story that is passed from person to person but has not been proven to be true" (Merriam-Webster). A "rumor mill" is defined as "The source from or process by which rumors are generated, spread, and perpetuated among a group of people" (The Free Dictionary).

The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues" (Oxford Languages).

Famous examples of satire include Jonathan Swift's 1729 essay A Modest Proposal, which suggests that the poor might earn extra money by selling their babies to rich people as food. This is, of course, a horrific idea, and Swift wasn’t serious, but his purpose was to shed light on unfair attitudes toward the poor in those days, which was, in fact, very serious.

Satire typically involves some absurdity, and the intent is to criticize, not to deceive. Nevertheless, many people have been fooled by satirical websites like The Onion.
See also parody

"A form of trolling meant to exhaust the other debate participant with no intention of real discourse. Sealioning refers to the disingenuous action by a commenter of making an ostensible effort to engage in sincere and serious civil debate, usually by asking persistent questions of the other commenter. These questions are phrased in a way that may come off as an effort to learn and engage with the subject at hand, but are really intended to erode the goodwill of the person to whom they are replying, to get them to appear impatient or to lash out, and therefore come off as unreasonable" (Merriam-Webster).

As this Marie Claire article further explains, sealioning is "when an uninvited stranger pops into your conversation and peppers you with unsolicited and insincere questions. The sealion politely demands evidence for even the most mundane or self-evident statements and insists that you justify your opinions until he's satisfied—which he never is, since he's asking questions in bad faith."

The term comes from a comic strip, The Terrible Sea Lion, by David Malki.

A work (such as a book or magazine article) that summarizes, analyzes, interprets, or comments on one or more primary sources. An example of a secondary source would be a book about a historical event written by a scholar who has researched the event, but was not present at the time and place in which the event occurred.

"The act by newspapers, television, etc. of presenting information in a way that is [meant to] be shocking or exciting" (Cambridge Dictionary).
See also yellow journalism

As opposed to a deepfake, which uses artificial intelligence to manipulate visual content, a shallowfake (or "cheapfake") is created with simpler, more traditional tools and techniques. Examples include slowing down or speeding up a video, splicing video clips together, or removing portions of a video to alter the way the viewer perceives the subject.

"Website content that exists only to be shared, aimed at generating advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy" (WordSense Dictionary).

According to a Chicago Tribune article (originally published in The Washington Post), "a study by computer scientists at Columbia University and the French National Institute [found that] 59 percent of links shared on social media have never actually been clicked: In other words, most people appear to retweet news without ever reading it.

'People are more willing to share an article than read it,' study co-author Arnaud Legout said in a statement. 'This is typical of modern information consumption. People form an opinion based on a summary, or a summary of summaries, without making the effort to go deeper.'"

Be sure to think critically about the information you're sharing before you share it.
See also clickbait

Click to enlarge image

"To present (news or information) in a way that creates a favorable impression" (Collins Dictionary).

"Material in an online publication which resembles the publication's editorial content but is paid for by an advertiser and intended to promote the advertiser's product" (Oxford Languages).
See also Native advertising

In the context of artificial intelligence, sycophancy occurs when AI assistants deliberately generate responses that match the beliefs of the user, even if the information provided is inaccurate. A research study entitled, "Towards understanding sycophancy in language models" examined five AI assistants and found that these tools "consistently exhibit sycophancy." The study's findings also suggest that users "prefer convincingly-written sycophantic responses over correct ones."
See also confirmation bias

Technically, a tabloid is "a newspaper that is about half the page size of an ordinary newspaper and that contains news in condensed form and much photographic matter" (Merriam-Webster).

However, as this ThoughtCo. article points out, "the word tabloid has come to be associated with supermarket checkout aisle papers, such as the National Enquirer, that focus on splashy, lurid stories about celebrities..."
See also sensationalism, yellow journalism

"To post inflammatory or inappropriate messages or comments ... for the purpose of upsetting other users and provoking a response" (Dictionary.com).

"The quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true."

Coined by satirist Stephen Colbert, truthiness beat out google (the verb) for Merriam-Webster's 2006 Word of the Year.
See also confirmation bias

According to the fact-checking website known as Snopes, "urban legends are best described as cautionary or moralistic tales passed along by those who believe (or claim) the incidents befell either folks they know personally or acquaintances of friends or family members. ... Though the vast majority of such tales are pure invention, a tiny handful do turn out to be based on real incidents. What moves true tales of this type out of the world of news and into the genre of contemporary lore [are the] ... alterations which take place as the stories are passed through countless hands."
See these examples of popular urban legends.
See also hoax

One urban legend that circulated widely on the internet is the "$250 Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe." The story is false, but the recipe is real, and the cookies are yummy!

"The production of content by the general public rather than by paid professionals and experts in the field. ... As brought out in Andrew Keen's [2007 book] 'The Cult of the Amateur,' when everyday users are allowed to report the news anonymously and are not held accountable for anything they say, it becomes increasingly difficult to tell fact from fiction. Professional journalists and editors, even those with immense fame, can be criticized and even fired for false reporting. However, the contributing user who can write anything is never held responsible. In addition, anyone can post something online, leading to an unprecedented information overload in today's world" (PC Magazine).

"The use of cheaply sensational or unscrupulous methods in newspapers, etc. to attract or influence readers" (Collins Dictionary).

As this Mental Floss article explains, the term originated in the late 19th century, when rival newspaper owners Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst published exaggerated and sometimes fabricated stories to try to boost sales. The color yellow refers to a popular comic strip, "The Yellow Kid," which appeared in Pulitzer's newspaper, the New York World.

"The Yellow Kid" by Richard Felton Outcault