"Fake News" is the Phrase of the Year

The term "fake news" is quite logically declared the phrase of the year by the British dictionary of English language Collins. Experts have reported that the use of the phrase has increased by as much as 365% in 2016, writes the Guardian. This is largely due to US President Donald Trump and the frequent use of the phrase by him.

Last week, he even said he was considered the "discoverer" of the phrase, recalls BGNews. "I suppose other people have used it over the years, but I've never noticed it," he said during an interview. Experts from the dictionary say that the etymology of the phrase remains controversial. According to Collins, the term "fake news" began to be used in US television in the 2000s to describe "fake, often sensational information circulated on news coverage." Its use has increased since 2015 and will be found in the next edition of the dictionary.

Other political terms also took part in the word for the year. Among them are the "echo chamber", which means space, especially in social networks, where an opinion is expected to be accepted with approval because it will be read only by people who think the same way. Huge growth (7,000%) is also observed in the use of the word "antifa", which denotes anti-fascist organizations and movements. It is mostly used in the United States, where the clashes between anti-fascist protesters and far-right representatives have grown over the past year. In the UK, popularity has developed for the phrase  "Corbynmania," which describes the enthusiasm about Labor's personality, Jeremy Corbyn.

"A large part of this year's list is definitely a political one, but with the new president in the United States and early elections in the UK, it is probably not surprising that politics continues to excite language," said Collins Helen, head of the language department Newcastle. Among the other words and phrases chosen to take part in the competition for the Word of the Year are the term "gender-fluid," which means a person who does not identify with a particular sex, "fidget spinner" - a popular toy, and "Insta "which is an acronym for the popular social network Instagram.

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