Coining a Slur: On the Pejoration of ‘Fake News’

Abstract This paper argues that the expression ‘fake news’ has been turned into a slur: in addition to a meaning applying to pieces of information or reports, it has gained a novel slurring meaning that targets liberal journalists. To this end, the paper surveys the recent development in uses of ‘fake news’, it shows that uses of ‘fake news’ directed at people display features that are typically exhibited by slurs, and it argues that such uses are best captured by views on which the expression has become ambiguous, gaining a slurring meaning. Finally, the paper considers the process of pejoration through which ‘fake news’ was turned into a slur through a small number of highly influential uses.