Content Specifics of Russian Fake News on the Internet and on Television

Section: Modern Journalism: Subjects and Issues

Fake news has widely spread over recent years, especially during the Brexit process, Ukrainian conflict and US presidential election campaign. Collins English Dictionary chose the word “fake” as the word of the year 2017. This study looks at the content specifics of fake news on the Internet and on Russian television. The sample consists of 22pieces of fake news that spread in social networks and online media (the audience for each piece amounted to more than 1 million people). The authors draw a conclusion about fake news mimicry to real news (structural similarity). The difference appears only at the level of content. The major means of spreading fake news are not only social networks and dubious websites but also the federal media.

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