Yup — and in fact I recall that it was used very shortly after the 2016 presidential election as the Left, stunned at its loss, was searching for reasons why th

Yup — and in fact I recall that it was used very shortly after the 2016 presidential election as the Left, stunned at its loss, was searching for reasons why the election didn't go their way, and latched on to the idea that it was 'fake news,' basically people confusing Onion stories for real life (well, not just Onion-level satire but also carefully-crafted non-satirical false-fact sites). I think the term was then picked up by the Administration shortly after the inauguration. I think at the moment it tends to be used mostly by the Administration, but the term itself seems to have some currency in industry as well, although it may be dying a bit at this point. Regardless, the term 'fake news' is IMHO itself kinda fake news.