“Fake news”, a term made popular in recent months by United States President Donald Trump, was named the word of the year on Thursday by Collins Dictionary. The use of the term rose 365% since 2016, the United Kingdom-based lexicographer said.
“Fake news” trumped “unicorn”, “echo chamber”, “gig economy” and “cuffing season” for the 2017 Word of the Year tittle. “Brexit” was Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2016.
“It has been derided by the leader of the free world [Trump] and accused of influencing elections, but ‘fake news’ is today legitimate news, as it is named Collins’ Word of the Year 2017,” the lexicographer announced.
It defined “fake news” as “false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting”.
Collins Dictionary said 2017 “has been so unbelievable, it’s hard to know what is fact and what is fiction”. It provided a few examples of such reports circulating on the internet over the past year, including two reports that said experts claimed the Atlantic Ocean is 75% too wet and that pole dancing was reclassified as an Olympic sport.
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