According to a number of different dictionaries, “news” is the reporting of information, facts, or an event.
definitions of "news"
- Information or reports about recent events. (Cambridge English Dictionary)
- Information about a recently changed situation or a recent event; information about recent events in the country or world or in a particular area of activity. (Harper-Collins English Dictionary)
- New information or a report about something that has happened recently. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
Thus, no news is fake news. At least not according to our general understanding and accepted definitions of the word "news". It is simply reporting on something that happened, some event, some piece of information (like a fact). It is certainly the case that the way a news story is presented can influence how one interprets the news. Leaving out important pieces of the story can bias perceptions or understanding, leading to the wrong conclusion. This can be unintentional or intentional. Unintentionally biasing a news story is just bad reporting. Intentionally biasing a news story just makes it propaganda.
definitions of "propaganda"
- Ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are spread in order to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
- Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view. (Oxford English Dictionary)
- Information, ideas, opinions, or images, often only giving one part of an argument; information or ideas that are spread by an organized group or government to influence people's opinions, especially by not giving all the facts or by secretly emphasizing only one way of looking at the facts. (Cambridge Dictionary)
- Any systematic, widespread dissemination or promotion of particular ideas, doctrines, practices, etc. to further ones' own cause or to damage an opposing one. (Harper-Collins English Dictionary)
- A message designed to persuade its intended audience to think and behave in a certain manner; specifically, institutionalized and systematic spreading of information and/or disinformation, usually to promote a narrow political or religious viewpoint. (Business Dictionary)
Although the definitions seem fairly straightforward, it is not always easy to distinguish between fact and fiction when scrolling through what are supposed to be news stories. But with only a little bit of thought and perspective, it may not be as difficult as it seems.
For example, consider news stories about the use of executive orders as a way of exercising presidential power. According to the government documents archival entity, The American Presidency Project, during the first 100 days as President, Trump signed 32 executive orders, Obama signed 19, George W. Bush signed 11, and Bill Clinton signed 13. As a presentation of factual numbers, this news is uncontroversial - and is based on the actual number of bills each president signed through an executive order within his first 100 days in office. They are dated and easy to count - to verify.
But now consider that during the 2016 campaign, Trump often said that, "Obama was abusing his power by signing so many executive orders" (Reference). Clearly, this statement is not based on the facts but is instead "designed to persuade its intended audience to think and behave in a certain manner" (see No. 5 above). Or to "influence people's opinions, especially by not giving all the facts or by [secretly] emphasizing only one way of looking at the facts" (see No. 3 above). See any of the above and it's quite easy to pick out the news from the propaganda especially when considering that Trump signed more executive orders during his first 200 days (42) than Obama averaged in a year (35) (Reference).
Probably the best example of a real "fake news" story is Trump's promotion of the idea that President Obama was born in Kenya. His birth certificate clearly shows the place of his birth as Hawaii. There is nothing left - or right - leaning about the birth certificate; it includes the names of his father and mother, time of birth, address, and all the other routine pieces of information that birth certificates record. But because it did not further Trump's agenda - nor that of the Republican Party - for undercutting President Obama's legitimacy, there was a lot of effort put into trying to "shame" media outlets who rebutted the Kenya ruse as "the liberal media".
Likewise, the on-going reporting of the Russia probe is not "fake news". In fact, reporting on new developments in the case - whatever their ultimate relevance - is a text-book example of "news" as defined by Cambridge, Merriam-Webster, and Harper-Collins dictionaries. Each time another revelation is exposed, it is - and should be - reported as news.
So, you undoubtedly have a preferred news source or two. I know I do. And try as I might, I have a very hard time listening to some stations. A friend of mine recently told me she and her husband (who tended toward the New York Times for news) were going to start watching some Fox News because they thought perhaps they could get a less left-only perspective by listening to both left and right leaning media sources. And while I definitely applaud their efforts, I also wonder if the so-called "liberal" media outlets are not so much reporting with a liberal bias per se (opinion pieces, definitely), but that their news stories are perceived as leaning left simply because they do not overtly lean right. "Facts" are neither liberal nor conservative. So, when a news story is not considered conservation, it can only be liberal.....or so we are being brainwashed to believe.
original use of propaganda
Originally, “propaganda” referred to the Roman Catholic Church and its Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. According to some sources, it was not until the 20th century when it acquired a more negative connotation, stemming primarily from its use by totalitarian regimes (e.g., Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy) to distort facts and spread falsehoods.