Uploaded May 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
10 Astounding Fake News Facts
1. By changing the definition of what “news” means and where it can be read, the internet has given rise to the ability for practically anyone to create fake news.
2. In 2019, US President Donald Trump, who has popularized the term “fake news,” used Twitter to name ten winners of his “Fake News Awards,” including writers and reporters from The New York Times, ABC, and CNN.
3. Countries that pay news writers to comment favorably on their governments include China, Iran, Morocco, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Thailand, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico.
4. A Stanford University study found that most high school students struggle to distinguish between paid advertising, fake news, and legitimate reporting.
5. One of the most-viewed fake news stories shared on Facebook claimed that American President Trump’s grandfather was a pimp and that his father was a member of the KKK. Neither of these claims are true.
6. One of the most popular fake news stories in 2019 claimed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was diverting Social Security funds to a new fund that would pay for the impeachment trial of President Trump.
7. A magazine article written in 1925 warned the general public to be on guard against news received through the telegraph—a technology that could be used to spread “mischief” in the form of fake news.
8. In 1997, a television station in Great Britain aired a faked documentary about a group of under-age drug addicts who were “rented out” as prostitutes. In reality, all of the “prostitutes” were youth actors, and the station that ran the story was fined 1.5 million pounds.
9. Although fake news is not a recent phenomenon, references to fake news in the media itself went from almost zero in 2015 to several thousand by the end of 2016.
10. Collins Dictionary included the term “fake news” on its 2017 “Words of the Year” list.
10 Astounding Fake News Facts
1. By changing the definition of what “news” means and where it can be read, the internet has given rise to the ability for practically anyone to create fake news.
2. In 2019, US President Donald Trump, who has popularized the term “fake news,” used Twitter to name ten winners of his “Fake News Awards,” including writers and reporters from The New York Times, ABC, and CNN.
3. Countries that pay news writers to comment favorably on their governments include China, Iran, Morocco, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Thailand, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico.
4. A Stanford University study found that most high school students struggle to distinguish between paid advertising, fake news, and legitimate reporting.
5. One of the most-viewed fake news stories shared on Facebook claimed that American President Trump’s grandfather was a pimp and that his father was a member of the KKK. Neither of these claims are true.
6. One of the most popular fake news stories in 2019 claimed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was diverting Social Security funds to a new fund that would pay for the impeachment trial of President Trump.
7. A magazine article written in 1925 warned the general public to be on guard against news received through the telegraph—a technology that could be used to spread “mischief” in the form of fake news.
8. In 1997, a television station in Great Britain aired a faked documentary about a group of under-age drug addicts who were “rented out” as prostitutes. In reality, all of the “prostitutes” were youth actors, and the station that ran the story was fined 1.5 million pounds.
9. Although fake news is not a recent phenomenon, references to fake news in the media itself went from almost zero in 2015 to several thousand by the end of 2016.
10. Collins Dictionary included the term “fake news” on its 2017 “Words of the Year” list.
