Nowadays social networks, for instance Facebook and Twitter, have made the users of the network not only recipients of information, but also producers of news. This assumption is fundamental to be able to talk about the phenomenon of the fake news and, more importantly, to be able to understand it. Indeed, fake news are part of the huge set of information that everyday appear in the network. They are intentional false news. However, they circulate just like those contents that instead satisfy an informative interest, polluting the public discourse.
Therefore, that fake news are not opinions, but intentional lies. Although freedom of expression represents a very broad protection, which includes as well the debate between the different ideas and opinions, such opinions must be kept separated from facts, within which fake news moves. Indeed, to believe that there are facts does not mean to believe that all that is proposed as fact is true (for instance, it is not a fact that “the Holocaust never happened”, yet this assumption invaded the web). Facts as the one reported in the example are false and, more importantly their falsity can be proved.
By clearly separating fake news from opinions, we can define fake news as articles with intentional and verifiably false news, which can mislead readers.
