‘Fake news’ named word of the year

MANILA, Philippines — This is not fake news: an English dictionary has chosen “fake news” as its 2017 Word of the Year.

Collins Dictionary, released in print and online media by leading publisher HarperCollins, selected “fake news” among the words that emerged or came to prominence in the past year.

Defined as “false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting,” Collins said the term’s usage saw an unprecedented increase of 365 percent since last year.

The increase may be attributed to the repeated use of the term in the political landscape, particularly by US President Donald Trump, who often brand reports critical of him and his administration as “fake news.”

In the Philippines, critics of President Duterte regularly call out his followers online for spreading supposed “fake news.”

“It has been derided by the leader of the free world and accused of influencing elections, but ‘fake news’ is today legitimate news as it is named Collins’ Word of the Year 2017,” said Collins Dictionary.

In explaining its etymology, the dictionary said associating the word “fake” with “news” started in the field of comedy, but was later applied to false news stories that were circulated with malicious intent rather than as satire.

“During the 2016 US presidential campaign, pundits noted the large number of websites broadcasting false stories about the candidates under the guise of news,” said Collins in the article about the word’s etymology.

“Then in January 2017 Trump dismissed reports from the CNN about his alleged links with Russia as ‘fake news’. Claims that potentially damaging stories were ‘fake news’ and inquiries into the proliferation of such stories were a major part of the news agenda in 2017,” it added.

Other words shortlisted by the dictionary for this year’s Word of the Year include antifa, corbynmania, cuffing season, echo chamber, fidget spinner, gender-fluid, gig economy, insta and unicorn.