ABSTRACT
Apart from satire and poor journalism, there are two main types of fake news: government lies about the bad things they have done and the deliberate propagation of 'disinformation'. The former is as old as government itself: the latter, courtesy of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and the internet, provides the essence of what has become known as the 'post truth' world. Faithful ally, Russia, backed up this account, but Donald Trump, apparently moved by the footage of dying children, ordered a retaliatory strike upon Shayrat airfield, the alleged base from which the attack was launched. "On October 7th, 1996, on Fox News Channel's first day of broadcasting, Bill O'Reilly lamented to viewers that television news was 'mostly a rehash of what most educated viewers already know'. In democracies, political system in theory depends upon a free press which can check government statements and hold it to account.
