000 02264cam a2200229 i 4500
020 _a9780231186346
020 _a0231186347
020 _a9780231186353
020 _a0231186355
082 0 0 _a071
100 1 _aTucher, Andie,
245 1 0 _aNot exactly lying :
_bfake news and fake journalism in American history /
_cAndie Tucher.
264 1 _aNew York :
_bBloomsbury Publishing Plc
_c[2022]
300 _ax, 367 pages :
_billustrations ;
_eNill
520 _a"Long before the current preoccupation with "fake news," American newspapers routinely ran stories that were not quite, strictly speaking, true. Today, a firm boundary between fact and fakery is a hallmark of journalistic practice, yet for many readers and publishers across more than three centuries, this distinction has seemed slippery or even irrelevant. From fibs in America's first newspaper about royal incest to social media-driven conspiracy theories about Barack Obama's birthplace, Andie Tucher explores how American audiences have argued over what's real and what's not and why that matters for democracy. Early American journalism was characterized by a hodgepodge of straightforward reporting, partisan broadsides, humbug, tall tales, and embellishment. Around the start of the twentieth century, journalists who were determined to improve the reputation of their craft established professional norms and the goal of objectivity. However, Tucher argues, the creation of outward forms of factuality unleashed new opportunities for falsehood: News doesn't have to be true as long as it looks true. Propaganda, disinformation, and advocacy-whether in print, on the radio, on television, or online-could be crafted to resemble the real thing. Dressed up in legitimate journalistic conventions, this "fake journalism" became inextricably bound up with right-wing politics, to the point where it has become an essential driver of political polarization. Shedding light on the long history of today's disputes over disinformation, this book is a timely consideration of what happens to public life when news is not exactly true"--
650 0 _aFake news
650 0 _aJournalism
650 0 _aDisinformation
650 0 _aJournalism
650 0 _aPress and politics
942 _2lcc
_cBK
999 _c10734
_d10734