Is Funny News Fake News? Analyzing The Role Of Satirical News And Its Implications In Mainstream Media

Despite the dramatic rise in use of the term “fake news,” its definition continues to be convoluted. While similar terms have been evident in journalism of the past, today’s networked and social media environment is making both the term and spread of fake news even hazier. Regardless of confusion, there are several ways of categorizing or defining fake news, including: 1) intentionally deceptive and misleading news (i.e., News created from fake news sites and shared through social media); 2) unintentional deception/false reporting; 3) comedic news versus satirical news (to be categorized separately); and 4) network news (or “real” news) as fake news, often used and encouraged by the current U.S. President. Comedic news is a “fake” news source that uses real news as the punching bag for its jokes. However, fake news may prove as an inaccurate title for this type of news, due to the advantage it has in sharing political discourse and challenging traditional new sources to do better and more substantial reporting. As a result, shows such as The Daily Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Samantha Bee, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (as well as the 2005-2014 program The Colbert Report), and their hosts, are influencing current journalistic practices and leading into a new narrative form of journalism.