Is 'Fake News' A Competitive Problem?

Abstract

The article starts by putting fake news into historical context. Because fake news primarily takes written form, it then discusses the decline of the U.S. newspaper industry after the appearance of Craigslist and the subsequent inability of newspapers to capture a significant share of online ad revenue. Turning to the question of whether fake news is a competitive problem, the article offers two competing views. The first is that fake news is the standard background radiation of our media diet and does not present a competitive problem. The second is that the prevalence of fake news is evidence that the online firms that enable its distribution have significant market power.

Keywords: competition law, antitrust, news media, social media, fake news

JEL Classification: K21