Fake News (Lapham's Quarterly special issue, 2018)

Lapham’s Quarterly: A History of Fake News (2018) As far back as we have writing, there’s been fake news. I suspect there was fake news well before any was recorded in writing. There’s also been pushback. Much of ancient fake news was merely exaggeration of the sponsor’s importance. Near eastern relics show that as often as not the new regime defaced their predecessor’s fake news and replaced it with their own.  Some of has this leaked into sacred texts: Ancient Israel was not as significant politically or economically as the Old Testament suggests.
     Quite early on, fake news has been both deliberate, and a mere side effect of more important objectives, such as attracting readers and advertisers in order to increase cash flow. The Hearst chain was notorious for starting the Spanish-American War for just this purpose. Electronic media have merely magnified these tendencies, as they have magnified all communications and accelerated their effects. This collection gives us mostly insider reports on how fake news was generated, with occasional confessions of unease or shame. It’s both entertaining and appalling. Like the news itself. ****

Chuck Shepherd et al. Beyond News of the Weird (1991)

     Chuck Shepherd et al. Beyond News of the Weird (1991) Chuck Shepherd for several years ran a newsletter gathering strange news. I have a nearly complete collection. The criterion for inclusion was publication in an actual newspaper, with as much detail as possible. He asked people to send him clippings; I did this for a while, and my reward was this book and my name listed as a contributor to his efforts. The newsletter morphed into a syndicated column and a web site. His collections show that reality is weirder than urban legends. I read this one over two days. It’s definitely a potato chip book.
     Samples: In Jasper, Texas, a panty bandit was arrested after 11 months of stealing panties; many of the victims were too embarrassed to report the thefts. (p.11) The owner of the Whispers nightclub in Columbia, Missouri, sent letters to fraternities touting his bar as a place to meet “drunk, horny women”. (p.64) Three teenagers in East Wenatchee, Washington, dug up a corpse because they wanted to take photos of themselves with it. (p.73) In June 1990, about 7,000 King penguins stampeded near McQuarrie, Tasmania, and died in the crush. (p.114) Eight inmates broke out of jail in Nashville, Tennessee, and found themselves in the women’s cell block. They stopped to have sex with their fellow prisoners, and were apprehended by the guards, of course. (p.166)
     As you can see, these events would make good starting points for fictions, if they weren’t so unlikely. Good book. ***
     Update 20200508: News of the Weird still exists. Find it here.