Back Page Fakes

Look, if you want to see 'fake news' then just look on the back pages of most British tabloids.  They call it 'football  news' or 'transfer speculation' but, in truth, it is fake news in its purest form.  Day in, day out, the sports pages of the likes of the Daily Mail, Daily Express and Daily Star are just chock full of completely made up stories about how this player or that is going to move from club A to club B for a huge transfer fee.  All presented as fact.  As someone who follows the Spurs, (I can't in all honesty describe myself as a Tottenham 'fan' in the trues sense, as these days my support is confined to the armchair), I'm very familiar with this sort of fake news: these newspapers seem to be trying to sell our best players on a daily basis.   Most frequently, of course, it is Harry Kane they are linking with big money moves to Manchester United or, since the Champions League match with them, Real Madrid.  But, of late, they've also been busy selling Deli Alli and Danny Rose (even though he's still recovering from a long term injury) to every leading club in Europe.  They never let the facts get in the way of their stories: how many times does Harry Kane have to say that he wants to be a 'one club player' and isn't looking for a move, how many times do Mauricco Pochettino and Daniel Levy have to say that their best players aren't for sale?

But it is all to no avail, because these kinds of stories aren't based upon 'facts' in any established understanding of what the term means.  Sometimes they take their cue from articles in Spanish or Italian newspapers - which they then cite as 'sources'. The trouble is that these 'sources' are themselves notorious for completely making up stories.  Sometimes they are 'extrapolated' from comments someone in the game has made.  Hence, Real manager Zinidane Zidane praising Harry Kane before and after the Champions League fixture last week is spun into the 'fact' that Real are going to make a bid for Kane that Spurs can't possibly turn down.  Indeed, some of the more creative back page hacks brought in the 'fact' that former Spur Gareth Bale's days at Real are numbered to report that the Spanish club were prepared to offer him to Spurs as part of cash plus player exchange for Kane.  All completely baseless. Many stories, though, have even less foundation in fact, seemingly constructed off of the back of some rumour someone 'In the Know' tweeted on Twitter.  They always turn out to be fantasy, though.

The point of all this is that commentators always go on about 'fake news' as if it is some new phenomena, unique to the internet age.  The reality is that it has been going on for as long as anyone can remember on the back pages of our tabloids.  And, let's face it, if they are happy to make up sports stories, then they aren't going to have any qualms about making stuff up for their front pages, as well.  It's no coincidence that these self same tabloids which keep making up football transfer stores - complete with sensational headlines - are simultaneously running breathlessly pro-Brexit stories on their front  pages - complete with sensational headlines.  These front page stories, upon examination, are as bereft of actual facts as those on the back pages.  So, let's stop blaming the web for 'fake news' and place the blame where it belongs: the back pages of right wing tabloids.