There’s been a little online debate about the coinage of the term “fake news” — was it Buzzfeed, Trump, or what?
Trump today claimed he invented the term “fake news.” I interviewed @CraigSilverman, who actually popularized the term, about the surreal experience of watching this phrase become a cudgel. https://t.co/muDd74Zbk9
— Andrew Beaujon (@abeaujon) October 2, 2019
Trump says he came up with the term “fake news.” That is, in fact, fake news. Trump appropriated the term from BuzzFeed, which was using it to describe fabricated pro-trump news items produced during the 2016 election by Macedonian teenagers.
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) October 2, 2019
CNN’s Brian Stelter also said it was Buzzfeed:
BuzzFeed -> many other news outlets including CNN in Oct/Nov 2016 -> Trump in Dec 2016. Sometimes I wish I had never said it on TV.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 2, 2019
Actually the term goes back even further. Norm Macdonald helped confirm that:
Credit where credit is due, it was @normmacdonald many years ago.
— Manti Python (@AngryNYfan) October 2, 2019
Manti is right, Andrew. I said it every week on national television for 3 years in the late 90s, a full 20 years before you claim your buddy popularized it. https://t.co/gnLiwp0ZnQ
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) October 4, 2019
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Ah yes, we remember it well.
Wasn't "fake news" coined by @normmacdonald on SNL's Weekend Update in the 90s? https://t.co/pGWMiht4sr
— Jon Jones (@jonjones) October 2, 2019
Good point. Said it every week on national TV decades before Buzzfeed existed. just another example of fake news. https://t.co/JSbek0DUS7
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) October 4, 2019
So even the media’s news about “fake news” is fake news? Incredible!
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