'Fake news' has officially hit Britain and people can't cope

LONDON -- The term "fake news" feels already like a bad hangover from 2016, when bogus websites published false or hyper-partisan news -- such as the conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton running a child sex ring inside a Washington D.C. restaurant.

President Donald Trump and his staff have twisted the term's original meaning, by repeatedly using "fake news" to discredit reporting from the "mainstream media," notably CNN and the New York Times.

But we, in the UK, truly believed we were safe from such a craze exploding across the pond.

How naive we were.

Thursday morning, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition, rebuked persistent questions from a BBC journalist about his possible resignation by saying that the BBC "is reporting fake news".

"There's a story going about that you set a date for when you're going to quit as Labour leader," asked the journalist.

"That’s in the ‘Imadeitupyesterday.com’," Corbyn replied.

When pressed, he continued:

"I’m really surprised that the BBC is reporting fake news. There is no news. Listen, I was elected leader of this party. I’m very proud to lead this party."

His reaction caused dismay on social media:

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