We trademarked Fake News to stop President Trump from misusing it | FakeNewsTM

To get people to stop and think about how ’fake news’ is being used, we here at the Society of Professional Journalists have filed a trademark on the term Fake News to prevent President Trump from misusing it to discredit stories, journalists and media outlets he simply doesn’t agree with. We’re even sending the White House a cease and desist letter every time he misuses the term. Satirical? Yes. But absurd times call for absurd measures. We’re now seeing people using the term to dismiss truthful reporting that doesn’t align with their politics or views - a major problem for healthy discourse in a democracy. Hopefully this initiative gets people to pause and consider how the term is being applied. After all, the vast majority of news you hear called ’fake’ isn’t actually fake.