Was "fake news" a thing before Trump needed an excuse for why the news about himself and his actions was so unflattering?

Is it just like the introduction of officially condoned "alternative facts" ?

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"Fake news" really wasn't a thing before last year. Satirical news existed but entirely made up stories with the intention of misleading is a pretty new phenomenon.
Bullshit stories with cherry picked 'facts' intended to persuade have been around as long as the internet has existed.