ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the deeper origins of 'fakery' in journalism and the intensifying crisis of legitimacy around fact-based content. It considers the roots of the broader crisis of elite credibility before turning to its contemporary manifestation in the fake news discourse. The crisis of trust in journalism which the fake news phenomenon both embodies and intensifies is part of a decline of public confidence in so-called 'elites'—those in positions of power, authority, prestige and influence over the majority of others. When the internet emerged in the 1990s, another layer of always-on-ness was introduced to news and political culture, augmented by the qualitatively new capacities for user—producer interactivity and public participation which the digisphere provided. Underpinning President Trump's post-truth perspectives on the matters was a deep mistrust of what he called disparagingly 'elites'. Journalism of left and right converges in an anarchic zone of vitriol where elected politicians are always contemptible, their policies not just wrong but their motives all self-interest.
