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Offtopic pet peeve: I'm really annoyed that "Fake News" seems to have replaced the perfectly cromulent "disinformation". What's worse it's even commonly used as

by simias 9y ago

Offtopic pet peeve: I'm really annoyed that "Fake News" seems to have replaced the perfectly cromulent "disinformation". What's worse it's even commonly used as-is in french as well, because apparently it's still cool to drop random english words while speaking french.

dbatten 9y ago
Additional observation: it's also interesting to me that the term seems to be having a resurgence of late? It started out largely being an accusatory term used by the American political left to disparage biased and/or incorrect information spread by Trump supporters (mostly, anyway). But then Trump and his supporters decided two could play at that game, and it became almost exclusively a term used by the Trump/Fox News crowd to bash the left. As a result, the left stopped using it as quickly as they had started, and the term all but disappeared from respectable news sources. Now, a year and change later, it seems to be coming back. No point here other than it's fascinating how trends in culture stop, start, and change with time.
- jordigh 9y ago
  No, "fake news" refers to a very specific phenomenon. It's not just any kind of misleading or incorrect reporting. Trump was the one to start saying "not fake news, YOU'RE fake news", but the phenomenon as initially encountered was about shoddy and small fraudulent websites, often trying to deceive their audience to believe that they were a different website, pushing the most anger-inducing news. It wasn't about left vs right (and why are those the only two options, argh). It's a far cry from the NYT or Fox News reporting incorrect things, whether deliberately or not, to someone called Foxx News or Non York Times reporting that Islam causes prostate cancer. If you look at the list here, it's all over the political spectrum, some of it is just plain apolitical scams like the Hawking Scam on a CNN knockoff website or celebrity stalking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fake_news_websites#List https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fake_news_websites#Lis...
  - dbatten 9y ago
    I don't disagree with you that "fake news" started out as a reference to a very specific phenomenon... it's just interesting that the term very quickly became a political cudgel. I think the transition from useful, specific term to political weapon is part of what makes it an intriguing study in how terms disseminate in culture. It's like "disruptive" - a highly specific term referencing a very particular business strategy that got abused to mean just about anything people wanted as it had its moment of popularity. I also sympathize with your frustration with politics being framed as left/right. I consider myself pretty libertarian, so I often find myself raging against that divide. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the fact that as a matter of practical reality, politics in this country is framed that way, and that shapes how terms are used, how arguments are made, and how things are portrayed in the media...
tdb7893 9y ago
Is there some reason that I'm seeing the word "cromulent" more and more now? (for those not in the know the word is originally from a Simpsons episode in the mid 90's)
- pavel_lishin 9y ago
  I haven't noticed any particular uptick, myself - I see it occasionally, and always smile a little when I notice it.
- ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
  I think the trend you are noticing is real. Simpson's memes and shit-posting is on the rise everywhere. A Bart Simpson joke was a MAJOR part of this weeks Saturday Night Live. (This Aussie Rapper’s ‘Simpsons’-Referencing Track Is Cromulent AF) http://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/news/musicnews/this-aussie-rappers-simpsons-referencing-track-is-cromulent-af/7028 http://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/news/musicnews/this-aussie-rapp... What I don't understand is the EXTREME uptick in "cromulent" from Google Trends on May, 28th. If someone with stronger Google-Fu could figure it out that would be cool.
- NeoBasilisk 9y ago
  I had a friend in high school that liked using it 15 years ago, and I've basically never heard anyone else using it regularly.
- bencollier49 9y ago
  I actually think it's fairly useful word. I've used it seriously on more than one occasion to mean "logically constructed according to the rules of word formation". It's handy if you're prone to building new words from Latin roots etc.
herbst 9y ago
Obvious doublespeak is obvious. Easy to proclaim critical voices as fake news and get a different reaction from the public than with "desinformation"
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
bencollier49 9y ago
Two syllables vs five for a commonly used concept. I think that's all there is to it.

by simias 9y ago

dbatten 9y ago

Additional observation: it's also interesting to me that the term seems to be having a resurgence of late? It started out largely being an accusatory term used by the American political left to disparage biased and/or incorrect information spread by Trump supporters (mostly, anyway). But then Trump and his supporters decided two could play at that game, and it became almost exclusively a term used by the Trump/Fox News crowd to bash the left. As a result, the left stopped using it as quickly as they had started, and the term all but disappeared from respectable news sources. Now, a year and change later, it seems to be coming back. No point here other than it's fascinating how trends in culture stop, start, and change with time.

jordigh 9y ago
No, "fake news" refers to a very specific phenomenon. It's not just any kind of misleading or incorrect reporting. Trump was the one to start saying "not fake news, YOU'RE fake news", but the phenomenon as initially encountered was about shoddy and small fraudulent websites, often trying to deceive their audience to believe that they were a different website, pushing the most anger-inducing news. It wasn't about left vs right (and why are those the only two options, argh). It's a far cry from the NYT or Fox News reporting incorrect things, whether deliberately or not, to someone called Foxx News or Non York Times reporting that Islam causes prostate cancer. If you look at the list here, it's all over the political spectrum, some of it is just plain apolitical scams like the Hawking Scam on a CNN knockoff website or celebrity stalking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fake_news_websites#List https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fake_news_websites#Lis...
- dbatten 9y ago
  I don't disagree with you that "fake news" started out as a reference to a very specific phenomenon... it's just interesting that the term very quickly became a political cudgel. I think the transition from useful, specific term to political weapon is part of what makes it an intriguing study in how terms disseminate in culture. It's like "disruptive" - a highly specific term referencing a very particular business strategy that got abused to mean just about anything people wanted as it had its moment of popularity. I also sympathize with your frustration with politics being framed as left/right. I consider myself pretty libertarian, so I often find myself raging against that divide. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the fact that as a matter of practical reality, politics in this country is framed that way, and that shapes how terms are used, how arguments are made, and how things are portrayed in the media...

tdb7893 9y ago

Is there some reason that I'm seeing the word "cromulent" more and more now? (for those not in the know the word is originally from a Simpsons episode in the mid 90's)

pavel_lishin 9y ago
I haven't noticed any particular uptick, myself - I see it occasionally, and always smile a little when I notice it.
ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
I think the trend you are noticing is real. Simpson's memes and shit-posting is on the rise everywhere. A Bart Simpson joke was a MAJOR part of this weeks Saturday Night Live. (This Aussie Rapper’s ‘Simpsons’-Referencing Track Is Cromulent AF) http://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/news/musicnews/this-aussie-rappers-simpsons-referencing-track-is-cromulent-af/7028 http://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/news/musicnews/this-aussie-rapp... What I don't understand is the EXTREME uptick in "cromulent" from Google Trends on May, 28th. If someone with stronger Google-Fu could figure it out that would be cool.
NeoBasilisk 9y ago
I had a friend in high school that liked using it 15 years ago, and I've basically never heard anyone else using it regularly.
bencollier49 9y ago
I actually think it's fairly useful word. I've used it seriously on more than one occasion to mean "logically constructed according to the rules of word formation". It's handy if you're prone to building new words from Latin roots etc.

herbst 9y ago

Obvious doublespeak is obvious. Easy to proclaim critical voices as fake news and get a different reaction from the public than with "desinformation"

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

bencollier49 9y ago

Two syllables vs five for a commonly used concept. I think that's all there is to it.