Fake news stories are articles that are figments of someone's imagination or contain outright falsehoods. On the one end of clear-cut fake news you have The Onion, a well-known internet satire site. On the other, you have "public interest" sites which create intentionally fake stories that mimic the language and attitudes of those who nefariously share complete, obvious and utter fabrications. In the middle, you have shoddy journalism in general, where bias, corporate and political influence, unreliable sources, malleable ethics and general laziness or plain lack of experience result in a wide array of news of questionable quality and accuracy. Everything in this middle gray-zone usually claims to be based in fact and truth.