Fake News: As Old As The Hills
You might think former President Donald Trump invented the term “fake news.” But here, we go back in time to the days before the American Revolutionary War, when King Charles II ruled the British Empire. King Charles II issued a proclamation, in 1674, “to restrain the spreading of false news, and licentious talking of matters of state and government.”
Those who violated the proclamation could not only be jailed, but also confined in a pillory on a public square, their hands and heads secured inside wooden or metal clamps. Frequently these prisoners were whipped, sometimes scarred, almost always mocked or scorned by passing bystanders.
Thus, the concept of fake news has been with us nearly 400 years. That’s how long it’s been used to justify censorship and to snuff out dissent or rebellion. Here’s more from Truthstream Media.
