Do you know how the term “Fake News” was coined? The term first appeared in the 1890’s when newspapers, mainly in New York, competed for subscribers by printing the most sensational news. Another term for fake news that I learned in school was “Yellow Journalism.” In this case, the term refers to a cartoon strip that appeared in Hearst newspapers called ‘Hogan’s Alley,’ which featured a character called “the yellow kid.”

The Yellow Kid

It was sensational news coverage in Hearst papers like the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor that whipped up American anti-Spain sentiment that resulted in an actual war with Spain. And the Yellow Kid got the blame.

Fast forward to 1988, and The Onion started publishing satirical news articles. The term “Fake News” was firmly attached to The Onion and its many copy cats.

Then Donnie D Cups got his hands on the term and applied it to legitimate news that criticized him for his many faults and misdeeds.

So it is not without a little irony that today we hear that “The Onion” made headlines in the legitimate news when they bought, at Alex Jones’ Infowars bankruptcy auction, Jones’s website, its social media accounts, its studio in Austin, Texas, its trademarks, and its video archive for an undisclosed sales price. 

Mark Bankston, lawyer for Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, asks Alex Jones questions about his emails and text messages during trial at the Travis County Courthouse, Austin, Texas, U.S., August 3, 2022. Briana Sanchez/Pool via REUTERS

This is all brought to you by the lawsuits filed by Sandy Hook parents who successfully sued Jones for a collective $1.5 billion (yes, a billion with a “b”). No way these assets will cover his tab, but that wasn’t the point was it?

Fake News absorbs Fake News, and we go full circle.