“Fake news”. If you tweet, watch TV or talk politics with your friends, it’s a phrase you can’t escape.

Though its first uses can be traced back more than 100 years, its current popularity is down to one man: US President Donald Trump. He first started using it as a cudgel with which to beat his critics while campaigning and, since his election, he has forced it into the popular lexicon. Not only in the US, but internationally.

Trump has said he plans on Wednesday to hand out awards for “fake news”. The announcement prompted ridicule from many, with several comedians actively campaigning to be nominated.

But is the growing popularity of the term not funny, but sinister? A Politico tally at the end of 2017 found that Trump’s preferred insult has become a favourite of authoritarian governments around the world, with leaders or state media in at least 15 countries using it to attack the media.

So, what does “fake news” really mean? Is its use as a slur here to stay? And is it even a useful description?

The Stream discusses with a panel of experts.

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