Moving averages were calculated using Microsoft Excel on data downloaded from trends.google.com
Suggested caption: Though the term ''fake news'' was known before the 2016 election, since Trump started using it soon after the election, it has been used continuously by Trump, other leaders, political operatives, journalists and ordinary people.<ref name=BBC_20180121>{{cite news |last1=Wendling |first1=Mike |title=The (almost) complete history of 'fake news' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-42724320 |agency=BBC |date=January 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251005131322/https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-42724320 |archive-date=October 5, 2025 |url-status=live }}</ref> Trump weaponized the term as a rhetorical tool to dismiss and discredit unfavorable reporting, undercutting journalism's truth-telling function and delegitimizing journalism for a large part of the electorate.<ref name=TechPolicyPress_20250421>{{cite news |last1=Napoli |first1=Philip M. |title=News Distortion: The New Fake News |url=https://www.techpolicy.press/news-distortion-the-new-fake-news/ |work=TechPolicy.press |date=21 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250918065057/https://www.techpolicy.press/news-distortion-the-new-fake-news/ |archive-date=18 September 2025}}</ref>
Technical note: most SVG code was automatically generated by the "Line charts" spreadsheet linked at User:RCraig09/Excel to XML for SVG. Additions and adjustments were made in a text editor.
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