The term “fake news” has exploded in print and broadcasting news sources around the world since the campaign and inauguration of President Donald Trump. Ironically, the media has something new to report on nearly every day regarding the alleged “fake news” Trump so often speaks of, most frequently on his social media.

Though it seems as if this is a new idea because of the recent publicity of it, fake news has been around in America since the late 19 century when “yellow journalism” first appeared. The term was coined based on two publishers and their profit-driven reporting of the developing action with the United States and Cuba. Joseph Pulitzer, an American journalist for the New York World, in 1896 began publishing a cartoon by R.F. Outcault titled “The Yellow Kid”. The cartoon was later bought by publisher of the New York Journal, William Randolph Hearst; however, Pulitzer proceeded to publish a cartoon similar to “The Yellow Kid” to continue competing with Hearst.

In order to stay in close competition, the two newspapers began publishing over-dramatized and altered stories – things the people of the United States were intrigued by – for a greater profit. Rather than factual news, the two papers were instead publishing stories that were generated to make money, and sway the public’s opinion one way or another regarding the Spanish-American War. Sound familiar to today’s debacle over the trustworthiness of news sources, especially with respect to our new President?

Teacher Mr. Zentz questions the existence of “fake news” in today’s world, but determines there is an impact on today’s reporting due to “exaggerated news”.

“What’s trending is what has become news”, Zentz said.

Zentz explained the strategy Donald Trump is using to manipulate the media industry, using his Twitter account to tweet something ludacris, essentially throwing reporters a bone to retrieve, where there is not actual news. Trump can go on, living his own life with minimal interruption while the media is chasing his fabricated “news”. Therefore, the excitement and breaking news stories are really not news at all. They are just what the public think they should be interested in.

As consumers, it is quite worrisome to think that nothing we read, or hear, could actually be factual or valuable. Junior Juwon Lee sees the dangers of this.

“You can’t just jump to a conclusion of what the media tells you”, Lee said.

Lee believes it is important, whether one sees it as a credible source or not, to always apply your own background knowledge to whatever you may read or hear through the media.

Though it may require more research and some wisdom to not be fooled, it is possible to weed out what is right, out of what today’s media writes.