The Genesis of Fake News

St. Mark's Anglican Church
St. John's, Newfoundland

According to Merriam-Webster, some of the earliest uses of the phrase “fake news” go back to newspaper articles in 1890 and 1891. However, fake news itself goes back much further. For those who believe in the story of creation as presented in the Old Testament Book of Genesis, it could be said that fake news goes back almost to the very beginning.

Was Samuel Adams a Fake Newsmaker as well as a Founding Father?

Statue of Samuel Adams at
Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston

Samuel Adams was a member of the tea-tossing Sons of Liberty. He also had a way with words and proved that the pen is mightier than the sword. With his incendiary writings, he ignited the revolutionary spirit in Massachusetts and throughout the colonies. 

For example, consider The Boston Massacre. A squad of 13 English soldiers - intimidated and perhaps even scared for their lives - fired on an angry mob of hundreds in front of the Boston Customs House. The event could have been called a riot or an incident.