viral lie
Contagious online deception
A viral lie is false information that spreads rapidly and widely, typically through social media and online sharing.
Like a biological virus, it replicates as people pass it along—often faster than corrections can follow.
The term emphasizes both the falsehood and its contagious nature: The viral lie about the candidate's past had reached millions before fact-checkers could respond.
- misinformationFalse data spread unintentionally
- false claimUntrue assertion presented seriously
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
- fake newsIntentionally deceptive media content
- rumorUnconfirmed circulating story
disinformation · spread · contagious · shares · share button · social media · debunked · fact check · conspiracy · echo chamber · propaganda · infodemic · clickbait · troll · bad actor · bot · retweet · forward
- Misconceptionsmisconception, myth, fallacy, false belief, mistaken belief
- misinformationmisinformation, disinformation, fake news, falsehoods, hoaxes
- Fact-checkingfact check, verify, debunk, false claim, misinformation
- media errorstypo, misquote, factual error, misspelling, correction
viral lieinvestigative journalism
In-depth reporting exposing wrongdoing
official record · primary source · empirical evidence · retraction