Fake news is news that is completely made up and designed to deceive readers with the purpose of persuasion towards a specific point of view and or direct traffic to a site for financial gain.
The definition can also be expanded to include news headlines that are distorted and decontextualized such as click baiting headlines. Fake news can be presented in many ways, see the glossary for a list of definitions.
Fake news is often presented in a manner to look official making it appear true, accurate and believable.
Elle Hunt from The Guardian states..."Strictly speaking, fake news is completely made up and designed to deceive readers to maximise traffic and profit. But the definition is often expanded to include websites that circulate distorted, decontextualised or dubious information through – for example – clickbaiting headlines that don’t reflect the facts of the story, or undeclared bias."
The British newspaper The Guardian, defines it as: "Fake news is completely made up, manipulated to resemble credible journalism and attract maximum attention."
Category 1- False or misleading websites that are usually shared on social media. Decontextualizes or uses distorted headlines to mislead
Category 2 - Websites that publish misleading or possibly unreliable information
Category 3 - Websites which sometimes use sensational headlines as clickbait
Category 4 – Satirical or comedy sites used to critically comments on politics or current events but may misinterpreted as real or reliable news
We Tracked Down a Fake News Creator in the Suburbs. Here's What We Learned, NPR, Nov. 23, 2016