Inaccurate news is news based on outdated or incomplete information.
Fake news is fake information passed off as "news", for whatever reason.
Stories, as they are reported, are constantly evolving and changing in the details. For example, in the Uber AV fatality story, news outlets initially reported the driver as a man named Rafael. The driver's actual name is Rafaela, and she is a woman. The news outlets were wrong but they got their info from a police spokesperson.
To continue reporting the story and say that it involves a driver named Rafael would be inaccurate. But the intent is not deliberate or malicious. Fake reporting would be to say Uber's driver was a 12-year old illegal immigrant, and making that fact up out of the blue.
In regards to reporting on public issues and officials, libel law gives First Amendment protection to reporting false information. A defendant is only culpable of libel/slander if gross negligence or actual malice is found: https://www.rcfp.org/category/glossary-terms/actual-malice
What is "fake information"? The word 'fake' has been transformed recently to mean something that is not well defined. Everyone knows that a 'fake' watch is a counterfeit watch, and the same goes for a 'fake' id. It's fraudulent, and that usage is well established. Past that, lines get blurry. A "fake" person is someone who is superficial and cares a lot about appearances. Where does "fake" information fit in here? If we photoshop freckles out of a photo or slim down a waistline, we might call that a "fake" photo, but the picture is still mostly accurate.
Does true information that has been stretched or selectively omitted fall under "fake"? Does it have to be completely made up?
> [...] But the intent is not deliberate or malicious. [...]
So it comes down to intent of the author in your mind? Wouldn't you agree that calling some news "fake" is primarily a statement about the author, then? You're saying, "the information is inaccurate, and the author did so with intent."
Fake news is fake information passed off as "news", for whatever reason.
Stories, as they are reported, are constantly evolving and changing in the details. For example, in the Uber AV fatality story, news outlets initially reported the driver as a man named Rafael. The driver's actual name is Rafaela, and she is a woman. The news outlets were wrong but they got their info from a police spokesperson.
To continue reporting the story and say that it involves a driver named Rafael would be inaccurate. But the intent is not deliberate or malicious. Fake reporting would be to say Uber's driver was a 12-year old illegal immigrant, and making that fact up out of the blue.
In regards to reporting on public issues and officials, libel law gives First Amendment protection to reporting false information. A defendant is only culpable of libel/slander if gross negligence or actual malice is found: https://www.rcfp.org/category/glossary-terms/actual-malice