Fake news is not always about politics. Back in 1939, a young actress by the name of

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Fake news is not always about politics. Back in 1939, a young actress by the name of Rita Hayworth was trying to become a household name, and her press agent, the legendary Henry Rogers, was willing to do whatever it took to make her a Hollywood star. One of these efforts was putting out a made-up press release naming Hayworth the winner of a nonexistent "best-dressed off-screen actress" contest held by a nonexistent group. That story landed Hayworth a big photo story in Look magazine (a competitor of Life) and launched the actress's career.29

Why do we care? Because it happened again.

More recently, the British newspaper The Daily Mail ran a story proclaiming that singer Rihanna's ad campaign for Armani undies had won an award from Ad Age magazine for being the sexiest of the year. The writers even quoted Ad Age as saying, "It's Rihanna at her sexiest. She's never looked this good." They also added, "She's in amazing shape and the pictures are stunning."30 (As a side note, the "they" in the attribution should have been a tip-off that there was not really a source behind the story. Remember Secret 7—There is no "they.")

Even Rihanna tweeted about the award. The only problem? As press blogger Jim Romenesko points out, Ad Age did not actually give out an award for the sexiest ad. That is why none of the stories about it (including those from the Huffington Post, the Hindustan Times, the Global Grind, and others) had links back to Ad Age.31

The actual source of the story? A company called TNI Press Ltd. that writes stories for British tabloids and is the source for several recent stories extolling Rihanna's sexiness. In his New York Times obituary, Rogers was quoted as saying in 1987, "If I did now what I did then, I'd be barred from every news media outlet."32

Hmmm . . . maybe not. Think about Secret 4—Nothing is new: Everything that happened in the past will happen again.

As a side note, at the time this story was spreading, your author ran a Google search on Rihanna's Armani ad and found twenty-four media stories about it but only one link to the actual correction. When it comes to celebrity gossip—gossip likely put forward by the celebrity himself or herself—do we really care whether it's true?

What could have the publications that printed the stories about Rihanna done to check the story before they published it? When it comes to celebrity gossip, sometimes likely put forward by the celebrity himself or herself, do we really care whether it's true, and why or why not?