For some time now everyone has been worrying about “fake news” or the world of “alternative fact” and wondering just how and why this unhappy phenomenon has flourished. My take on this question is simple, although I hope not simple-minded: Fake news is in large part a product of the enthusiasm — not to say rage — for transparency and absolutely free speech.
I know that this is a counterintuitive proposition. I would like to begin my defense of it with an anecdote. CONT.
Stanley Fish (Florida International U.), New York Times