Fake news isn't new, it's been around a long time. Why is it so prevalent in today's world?
In the past, news came at a slower rate and more than likely came from a reputable source. Here is a visual representation from Rose-Stockwell's How We Broke Democracy:
However, social media has increasingly become the place people turn to for news. From the same article, here is a visual representation of how we get news today:
This graphic from The Pew Research Center shows how the number of people turning to social media for news has increased in 2017.