"fake news" is an attempt at permanently damaging the American public's faith in the fifth estate. Nobody should ever use that term in the current political climate, ever.

Please don't take HN threads into nationalistic flamewar, or any flamewar.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

We had to ask you the same thing once recently already: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22775767. Doing this repeatedly will get you banned here, so please stop.

That's a fair criticism if clumsily put. For the record, I'm Canadian, British and Polish. I called out America as by far the biggest perpetrator at the moment.

So to address the second half of your post, I have indeed heard of "other countries" (just ask USCIS) although being a US resident at the moment I want to speak to what I know, not for anyone else.

Though if we're being super pedantic, there's only one human species on this planet -- species of course being defined as animals who can mate and produce viable offspring.

"That's a fair criticism if clumsily put" - I guess the original point was a shining example of elegance.

USCIS - the same organ that asks women "have you ever been a prostitute" on citizenship tests?

"Though if we're being super pedantic, there's only one human species on this planet -- species of course being defined as animals who can mate and produce viable offspring."

You got me here ;)

If I'm understanding you correctly you're referring to the eligibility criteria at the back of an Adjustment of Status petition, form I-485, which is part of the green card process.

I'm pretty sure the prostitution questions apply to men, too. The question is "Have you EVER engaged in prostitution or are you coming to the United States to engage in prostitution?" (Part 8, Question 35). Credit where due, I suppose, an (albeit small) win for gender equality.

As an aside, you should see what else they ask. That's among the least concerning question -- they ask everyone if they've committed war crimes or trafficked humans recently, or been a member of a communist or nazi party. Or committed any political assassinations (Part 8, Question 48.a).

[1] https://www.uscis.gov/i-485

Don't let the troll drag you into this. It's a pointless distraction.

Indeed, I shouldn't get too far off course here haha, I just happened to know exactly what they were referring to and find that whole section amusing.

Says who?

When news organizations take other news organizations word for it and the story is false, that's fake news. We called it something different back then, but fake news led to the invasion of Iraq. Negligence is sufficient for fake news, malice not required.

Fake News was a term invented around 2015 during the run-up to the 2016 election. It specifically referred to the phenomenon of literally fake news stories, such as rallies and completely false stories about politicians, being published by legitimate-sounding but nonexistent news organizations, using platforms like Facebook to disseminate themselves. Usually these were done from China and Russia.

You're as silly as those people who claim that male and female refer exclusively to sex but not gender. Terms change in meaning and fake news is widely used to refer to false news stories, regardless of reason. You have to accept the way everybody else is using the word.

So, what do you recommend calling what used to be called fake news? And how we ensure that the its replacement isn't co-opted for malicious purposes again?

And then trump redefined it to be about legitimate news sources exclusively. We’ve really been in upside down world for four years.

That's one of the reasons why I bring it up. If we don't stand against this dilution of a powerful term, it will be co-opted - which is exactly what people who want to destroy the trust of the press for their own personal and political ends want to do.

It’s a joke mate

Of course, but it chips away at the Overton window, normalizing it.