Yes it is a new phenomenon. Because of Facebook and Twitter fake news can reach tens of millions of diverse people in seconds. Please explain when in history this has otherwise been the case. And remember we aren't just talking about one off examples here. We are talking about a constant barrage of completely fake news.

Even what you're referring to has been around for at least 15 years, the internet is not exactly new anymore. I don't disagree with you that the spread of false information is a problem, it's more that I deeply disagree with the tone and proposed solutions within most of these articles about 'fake news'. I would like to utilize the corresponding ability of the internet to rapidly disseminate truth as a way to combat falsehood, and to me this entails building open, distributed discussion platforms where both anonymity and verified identities are possible.

Drudge or CNN have been capable of spreading 'fake news' to tens of millions via the Web in the US for 15 or more years.

The current propaganda over fake news is solely about the Trump election result and attempting to install a form of censorship & control over information either directly (outlaw 'fake news' via political content controls or similar) or indirectly (get FB/Google/Twitter to shut down distribution, which they're thrilled to do) to prevent that from ever happening again.

When Trump is finished with the US you'll understand why people are panicking.

When "fake news" is finished in the US you'll understand why people are panicking.

Propaganda (barrage of fake news) predates the newspaper and certainly predates Facebook.