October 27, 2019

Sometimes satire is the only remedy against a ridiculous and lawless president, and one ad agency took matters into their own hands to show just that.

Source: Newsweek

Donald Trump often uses the term "fake news"—especially, critics might say, when he is the subject of a story he does not like. Now one ad agency and a journalist have attempted to take a legal stand against the practice.

Calgary advertising agency Wax Partnership and the Florida Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists have teamed up and applied for a trademark on the term.

They sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump, in a tongue-in-cheek move they hope will spark a conversation about the difference between credible news and the mountains of incorrect information being disseminated, according to CBC.

To help in their goal, Wax has produced a spoof video in which the main actor states that "real" fake news is not news at all but completely made up, using the example of a story with the headline "Centaur surgery a success."

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon