It USED to mean news that wasn’t real, a completely false narrative.
But today that definition has been twisted into a new definition:
‘Fake News’ - news or statements that don’t paint the picture of YOU in a good light or that don’t measure up to a particular self-image.
It does not refer to News that isn’t true or a lie specifically although it may or may not include truthfulness.
It has been used as a standard attack-phrase against any person or agency that speaks or writes about any matter or event, truth or not, that does not measure up to a person’s desired projected self image. Rather than confronting the
conversation, a person will dismiss it with the phrase of ‘Fake News’ and immediately pivot to another topic in order to remove the glaring lights of an unflattering
introspection of his actions.
It should not be substituted for the word ‘lie’, although it appears to be currently used as a euphemism for ‘lies’ but in fact it may be hiding actual truths and not lies.
So before
getting into a
conversation with a person who likes to use that phrase, the definition of that term should be clarified at the beginning so that it may not be used as a cloak to hide behind.
