The Left's Futile Atempt to Eliminate the Phrase ‘Fake News’

One thing the left has been extremely successful in doing is redefining the language. Academia and the media have given us phases like "Womens Reproductive Rights" to legitimize their evil, and have recently redefined words like "Diversity " to push an agenda and mask their hate. The left originally coined the term "Fake News" to describe right-leaning news sources like Breitbart and RedState. But during the contentious campaign of 2016, the actions of the media, with their unabashed bias, lies and cheer-leading, Donald J. Trump turned the tables. Since then much crying a gnashing of teeth have followed. 

"The term has become entirely applied to the left-leaning media as a derogatory epithet for mainstream news sites whose political coverage found to be flawed or biased,” complains Slate magazine. It is now “a handy cudgel for people who want to criticize the media for a wide range of failings. The speed with which the term became polarized and in fact a rhetorical weapon illustrates how efficient the conservative media machine has become.”

John Lloyd, a senior research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, laments its use. It portrays the mainstream media "as the tool of an arrogant, out-of-touch elite." There is much truth in that statement Mr. Lloyd, as well as it dripping with sweet irony you fail to see from the ivory towers. 

The left sees the damage the phrase is causing. They want people to stop using it. DJT calls The Washington Post fake news more than almost any other news outlet. Fighting back, Margaret Sullivan declared, “It’s Time to Retire the Tainted Term ‘Fake News.'” She complains that people use the phrase to describe left-leaning political views.

Hossein Derakhshan and Claire Wardle want to “Ban the Term ‘Fake News.'” The phrase, they say, has “become weaponized by politicians who use it to undermine independent journalism in an effort to reach the public directly through their own channels.” And that is a bad thing??

Ask someone what ‘fake news’ means today, and depending on their political orientation, they may be more likely to mention CNN or the New York Times, and for good reason.  In an attempt to discredit the phrase, The New York Times published an article listing dictators and other disreputable world leaders who have used the phrase “fake news.” Although there are plenty of democratic world leaders who have used the phrase, The Times focused only on the unpopular leaders.  The left is also frustrated that mere mistakes as they call them when they are caught red-handed, are being labeled fake news along with biased journalism.  Innocent gaffes, you know, like when the Media framed photos of the crowd at Trump’s inauguration in such a way to minimize the size.

There is one way the left could succeed in reducing the conservative use of the phrase. The AP Stylebook will eventually discourage its use. That would be in keeping with its left-leaning rules. The stylebook has often discouraged the use of words and phrases conservatives prefer, such as banning “illegal immigrants” as just one example.

(Poynter) 
(Stream)
(Slate)