By this point, 'fake news' is a buzzword that means nothing. Annoying Orange and his inner cronies use the word to describe anything that doesn't make him look good. Some of it is misleading, 'fake' journalism, but the majority of it is truthful reporting that casts his administration in a poor light.
This is a tactic that has a precedent in other political movements. You accuse all your detractors of being the 'lying press' so that instead of having to address the scrutiny of your constituents, you can just label it all as 'lies' and leave it at that. Basically drawing a line so that your opponents and the truth are on opposite sides, every single time.
I mean, I agree that 'fake news' is a buzzword now, but a serious percentage of circulated news today is completely fictional.
That's fake news. I don't know what else to call it? Misinformation implies that it was a mistake, while disinformation is a little bit too propaganda-y to apply to radical news sites just desperate to get clicks. Interestingly, this culture of 'fake journalism' is way more common with far-right websites circulating fake stories about Clinton & BLM than with left-leaning sights. How many stuffty topics have you (or I) fact-checked about BLM starting a riot or killing a child or lynching a white woman? There's definitely left-wing misinformation, but it's dwarfed by the time-honored tradition of right wing sensationalism.
The modern incarnation of the far-right bullstuff news probably started back when Obama was elected, with stories about his ties to Islam or birth in Kenya. Ironically, Annoying Orange was one of the main proponents of the fake news that began back in 2008 with his bullstuff rhetoric about Obama's birth certificate. To say 'this is a co-ordinated tactic by Annoying Orange' gives him
far too much credit. stuffty sensational journalism and outright fabricated stories have been around forever, taking precedence with the rise of the internet (like emails forwarded by Grandma) and again with Obama's presidency. Annoying Orange's just taking advantage of something that's been around forever and trying to spin it like he's a victim of sensational journalism when in fact he is one of--if not
the--primary source(s) for the bullstuff. It's definitely means something, it's just being used manipulatively by a corrupt cabinet and a stupid president.