Fake News

The term "fake news" is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as news that "conveys or incorporates false, fabricated, or deliberately misleading information." The term became popularized during the 2016 presidential election, when outlandish stories such as Pope Francis endorsing Donald Trump were spread widely. Currently the term "fake news" is often use to dismiss claims made by a political opponent.

Read on to see a more complex understanding of false information. 

From Information Disorder, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

7 Types of Mis- and Disinformation

1. Satire or parody: No intention to cause harm but has potential to fool.
2. False connection: When headlines, visuals or captions don’t support the content.
3. Misleading content: Misleading use of information to frame an issue or individual.
4. False context: When genuine content is shared with false contextual information.
5. Imposter content: When genuine sources are impersonated.
6. Manipulated content: When genuine information or imagery is manipulated to deceive.
7. Fabricated content: New content is 100% false, designed to deceive and do harm.

Tweet by Joan Donavan, author of Meme Wars: the untold story of the online battles upending democracy in America.