With each passing day the potential reach of a single false news
story--and its ability to negatively impact all of us--grows in both
size and scope. Although politicians, activists, and ordinary citizens
regularly complain about deceptive or biased news reports, they tend to
define fake news as anything with which they happen to disagree, thus
compounding the problem even further. Seeking to bring some much-needed
clarity to the subject, journalist David G. McAfee documents the myriad
definitions of "fake news" and its various incarnations throughout
history, from ideologically motivated disinformation operations to
commercially motivated misinformation campaigns. Demonstrating that we
are all culpable in the creation of the current pandemic, he presents a
number of practical and actionable suggestions for combating it. In the
end, however, he argues that each of us, no matter our political bent,
have an important role to play in curbing the insidious spread and most
dangerous effects of fake news.