History of Fake News
“Massive digital misinformation is becoming pervasive in online social media to the extent that it has been listed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as one of the main threats to our society.”1
Fake news is nothing new. While fake news was in the headlines frequently in the 2016 US election cycle, the origins of fake news date back to before the printing press. Rumor and false stories have prob- ably been around as long as humans have lived in groups where power matters. Until the printing press was invented, news was usually transferred from per- son to person via word of mouth. The ability to have an impact on what people know is an asset that has been prized for many centuries.
Pre–Printing Press Era
Forms of writing inscribed on materials like stone, clay, and papyrus appeared several thousand years ago. The information in these writings was usually limited to the leaders of the group (emperors, pha- raohs, Incas, religious and military leaders, and so on). Controlling information gave some people power over others and has probably contributed to the creation of most of the hierarchical cultures we know today. Knowledge is power. Those controlling knowledge, information, and the means to disseminate informa- tion became group leaders, with privileges that others in the group did not have. In many early state soci- eties, remnants of the perks of leadership remain— pyramids, castles, lavish household goods, and more.
Some of the information that has survived, carved in stone or baked on tablets or drawn in pictograms, extolled the wonder and power of the leaders. Often
these messages were reminders to the common peo- ple that the leader controlled their lives. Others were created to insure that an individual leader would be remembered for his great prowess, his success in bat- tle, or his great leadership skills. Without means to verify the claims, it’s hard to know whether the infor- mation was true or fake news.
In the sixth century AD, Procopius of Caesarea (500–ca. 554 AD), the principal historian of Byzan- tium, used fake news to smear the Emperor Justin- ian.2 While Procopius supported Justinian during his lifetime, after the emperor’s death Procopius released a treatise called Secret History that discredited the emperor and his wife. As the emperor was dead, there could be no retaliation, questioning, or investigations. Since the new emperor did not favor Justinian, it is possible the author had a motivation to distance him- self from Justinian’s court, using the stories (often wild and unverifiable) to do so.
Post–Printing Press Era
The invention of the printing press and the concurrent spread of literacy made it possible to spread informa- tion more widely. Those who were literate could eas- ily use that ability to manipulate information to those who were not literate. As more people became liter- ate, it became more difficult to mislead by misrepre- senting what was written.