History Main / TheDailyMisinformer

** Regular continuity has ''The National Whisper'. When they run a story that Superman may have helped Lex Luthor fake his death, Clark is annoyed enough to confront the editor in costume. The editor claims they never said he ''did'', just quoted an expert as saying he ''could'' have. "A crackpot maybe, but still an expert!" Superman asks if they have ''any'' journalistic integrity and says "To think trees ''died'' for this ''imitation newspaper''!"

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': The Elseworld ''ComicBook/SupermanTrueBrit'', in which Kal-El's rocket lands in England, features Superman's civilian identity working for the Daily Smear, a magazine whose editors have no compunction against printing libel, lies or even slandering Superman.

* '' Literature/TheTruth:'' One of the Truth's rivals is a tabloid with zero journalistic integrity printing ludicrous events like women in Lancre giving birth to snakes. They turn out to be written by Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler (not out of malicious intent, the Engravers' Guild hired him to put the Truth out of business), who stops doing it after a thorough tongue-lashing from Sacharissa.

* In ''Fanfic/LadybugOut'' (and [[FandomSpecificPlot similar]] ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fanfics), the Ladyblog turns from a somewhat reliable news source about Ladybug and Cat Noir (even if Ayla Césaire [[SocialMediaBeforeReason is not what we would call conscious about her own safety to get the scoop]]) to a bunch of slanders and lies, mostly because Ayla takes Lila Rossi (a ConsummateLiar who wants to destroy Ladybug at any cost) as a trusted source of information and then she doubles down on the sleaze when anybody, including Ladybug, [[IRejectYourReality tries to advise her about Lila's unreliability]]. In this particular story, this eventually leads to Marinette [[StartMyOwn creating her own blog]] just so there will be someone giving reliable news about her activities as Ladybug.

** Jameson doesn't like most other Marvel heroes much better, though ever since ComicBook/JessicaJones saved his daughter's life in ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}'' he's had a fairly good relationship with her (to the point where Jessica's main LoveInterest Comic/LukeCage once grumbles that she's the only super whom Jameson ever says anything nice about), and hires her in ''ComicBook/ThePulse'' as an expert consultant for a new, more neutral superhero-focused publication of the same title. It also comes out in the first ''Pulse'' StoryArc that he and Benjamin Urich once tried to expose Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin but [[HilaritySues were sued for libel and forced to retract the whole thing]]. [[spoiler:After Spidey and Luke go after Osborn in retaliation for attacking the pregnant Jessica and force him to transform in front of dozens of witnesses in broad daylight, Jameson promptly orders Urich's expose reprinted.]]

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': ZigZagged with ''The Daily Bugle''. Under his tenure as Editor-in-Chief, [[Characters/MarvelComicsJJonahJameson J. Jonah Jameson]] generally prides himself on journalistic integrity and reporting the facts. However, he has a blind spot when it comes to superheroes, whom he views as {{vigilante|Man}}s and constantly publishes negative stories about.
** Jameson consistently paints Spider-Man as a vigilante menace operating outside of the law, making him kind of the web-slinger's SitcomArchNemesis. More than one story sees him issuing a retraction in Spidey's favor once the real culprits come out, but he's always been reluctant to do so. Since 2017, however, he's known about Spider-Man's secret identity and has cut back on the slander, with ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' having him hail Spidey as a hero.
** Jameson doesn't like most other Marvel heroes much better, though ever since ComicBook/JessicaJones saved his daughter's life in ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}'' he's had a fairly good relationship with her, and hires her in ''ComicBook/ThePulse'' as an expert consultant for a new, more neutral superhero-focused publication of the same title. It also comes out in the first ''Pulse'' StoryArc that he and Benjamin Urich once tried to expose Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin but [[HilaritySues were sued for libel and forced to retract the whole thing]]. [[spoiler:After Spidey and ComicBook/LukeCage go after Osborn in retaliation for attacking the pregnant Jessica (Cage's girlfriend) and force him to transform in broad daylight, Jameson promptly orders Urich's expose reprinted.]]

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate3'' has The Baldur's Mouth, which frequently reports on recent events, [=NPCs=] can be overheard complaining about it having extremely biased puff pieces for Gortash and the Steel Watch, suppression of critique on how the lords of Baldur's Gate are handling the refugee crisis and [[MurderArsonAndJaywalking discontinuing the crossword puzzles]], and there's a quest involving trying to keep it from running an article that will trash the party's reputation if left unchecked. It's all but stated that it used to be a much more reputable paper until Gortash essentially bribed the editor with a full on automated printing press.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate3'' has The Baldur's Mouth, which frequently reports on recent events, NPCs can be overheard complaining about it having extremely biased puff pieces for Gortash and the Steel Watch, suppression of critique on how the lords of Baldur's Gate are handling the refugee crisis and [[MurderArsonAndJaywalking discontinuing the crossword puzzles]], and there's a quest involving trying to keep it from running an article that will trash the party's reputation if left unchecked. It's all but stated that it used to be a much more reputable paper until Gortash essentially bribed the editor with a full on automated printing press.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

-->'''J:''' "[[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe I can't believe you're looking for tips in the supermarket tabloids!]]"
-->'''K:''' "Not 'looking for'. ''Found''."
-->''*K sets down Magazine/WeeklyWorldNews issue with the headline "Space Aliens Stole My Husband's Skin!"*''

* ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' brings us The Daily Punctilio. It appears more often in the show than in the original novels, on account of the fact that editor-in-chief Eleanora Poe has been changed from Mr. Poe's sister to his wife. Like in the books, it's an awful paper, unable to even get the name of the BigBad right, calling him "Count Omar" as opposed to "Count Olaf". [[spoiler:Eleanora actually receives some AdaptationalKarma in the series because of the state of the Punctilio; the final episode shows the paper as having gone out of print due to the sheer amount of false reports made by the paper, and Eleanora is behind bars.]]

-->And top psychics all agree / That the telephone company
-->Will have a brand new service that lets you talk to the dead.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'' episode "It's the Giant Pumpkin, Martha", T.D. reads a newspaper with ''Wacky News'', which is full of made-up stories, like one about a [[AbsurdlyElderlyMother hundred-year-old woman
giving birth]].

* In ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk''

** The ''Daily Prophet'' knowingly published libelous articles by [[ImmoralJournalist Rita Skeeter]] and spends the first year of the return of Voldemort defaming Potter and Dumbledore to the point the wizarding public becomes more susceptible to manipulation by Death-Eaters.

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Film — Live-Action]]

* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'': ZigZagged with ''The Daily Bugle''. Under his tenure as Editor-in-Chief, SelfDemonstrating/JJonahJameson generally prides himself on journalistic integrity and reporting the facts. However, he has a blind spot when it comes to superheroes, whom he views as {{vigilante|Man}}s and constantly publishes negative stories about.
** Jameson consistently paints ComicBook/SpiderMan as a vigilante menace operating outside of the law, making him kind of the web-slinger's SitcomArchNemesis. More than one story sees him issuing a retraction in Spidey's favor once the real culprits come out, but he's always been reluctant to do so. Since 2017, however, he's known about Spider-Man's secret identity and has cut back on the slander, with ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' having him hail Spidey as a hero.

* The Elseworld ''ComicBook/SupermanTrueBrit'', in which Kal-El's rocket lands in England, features Superman's civilian identity working for the Daily Smear, a magazine whose editors have no compunction against printing libel, lies or even slandering Superman.

[[folder: Film - Live-Action]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'' episode "It's the Giant Pumpkin, Martha", T.D. reads a newspaper with ''Wacky News'', which is full of made-up stories, like one about a [[AbsurdlyElderlyMother hundred-year-old woman giving birth]].

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate3'' has The Baldur's Mouth, which frequently reports on recent events, NPCs can be overheard complaining about it having extremely biased puff pieces for Gortash and the Steel Watch, skewed judgment of what's newsworthy and [[MurderArsonAndJaywalking discontinuing the crossword puzzles]], and there's a quest involving trying to keep it from running an article that will trash the party's reputation if left unchecked. It's implied it used to be a much more reputable paper until Gortash essentially bribed the editor with a full on automated printing press.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate3'' has The Baldur's Mouth, which frequently reports on recent events, NPCs can be overheard complaining about it having becoming extremely biased puff pieces for Gortash and the Steel Watch, skewed judgment of what's newsworthy and [[MurderArsonAndJaywalking discontinuing the crossword puzzles]], and there's a quest involving trying to keep it from running an article that will trash the party's reputation if left unchecked.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate3'' has The Baldur's Mouth, which frequently reports on recent events, NPCs can be overheard complaining about it having becoming extremely biased puff pieces for Gortash and the Steel Watch, skewed judgment of what's newsworthy and[[MurderArsonAndJaywalking discontinuing the crossword puzzles]], and there's a quest involving trying to keep it from running an article that will trash the party's reputation if left unchecked.

* ''VideoGame/Baldur's Gate 3'' has The Baldur's Mouth, which frequently reports on recent events, NPCs can be overheard complaining about it having becoming extremely biased puff pieces for Gortash and the Steel Watch, skewed judgment of what's newsworthy and[[MurderArsonAndJaywalking discontinuing the crossword puzzles]], and there's a quest involving trying to keep it from running an article that will trash the party's reputation if left unchecked.

-->'''K:''' "Not 'looking for'. ''Found''." ''*sets down Magazine/WeeklyWorldNews issue with the headline "Space Aliens Stole My Husband's Skin!"*''

-->'''K:''' "Not 'looking for'; ''found''."

ExtraExtraReadAllAboutIt ObviouslyEvil MegaCorp cleared of wrongdoing! TheHero arrested for Slander, ArsonMurderAndJaywalking, and everything else he accused the MegaCorp of! See more in our evening edition!

If you're reading these kinds of headlines, you may have subscribed to the Daily Misinformer. The Daily Misinformer is specific type of periodical or website whose purpose in a narrative is spreading misinformation in an attempt to make life harder for our protagonists. This can be accomplished in a variety of manners, ranging from turning public opinion against the heroes, to unquestioningly regurgitating TheEmpire's propaganda, or just printing BlatantLies and libel that a reporter pulled from where the sun don't shine. At best, they'll print the occasional CassandraTruth but present it in such a way that ruins the credibility.

** Jameson consistently paints ComicBook/SpiderMan as a vigilante menace operating outside of the law, making him kind of the web-slinger's SitcomArchNemesis. More than one story sees him issuing a retraction in Spidey's favor once the real culprits come out, but he's always been reluctant to do so. Since 2017, however, he's known about Spider-Man's secret identity, and has cut back on the slander, with ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' having him hail Spidey as a hero.
** Jameson doesn't like most other Marvel heroes much better, though ever since ComicBook/JessicaJones saved his daughter's life in ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}'' he's had a fairly good relationship with her, and hires her in ''ComicBook/ThePulse'' as an expert consultant for a new, more neutral superhero-focused publication of same title. It also comes out in the first ''Pulse'' StoryArc that he and Benjamin Urich once tried to expose Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin but [[HilaritySues were sued for libel and forced to retract the whole thing]]. [[spoiler:After Spidey and ComicBook/LukeCage go after Osborn in retaliation for attacking the pregnant Jessica (Cage's girlfriend) and force him to transform in broad daylight, Jameson promptly orders Urich's expose reprinted.]]

[[folder: Comic Strips]]

* ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'': The Bloom Beacon/Picayune[[note]] It's been called both with no regards to consistency due to the strip's NegativeContinuity[[/note]] is reliably portrayed as a sensationalist rag which when it's not front-paging outright lies and fabrications is twisting the truth so much there's barely a distinction to be made. Milo Bloom, the paper's resident ten-year-old news hound, frequently twists the statements of people he interviews (Once he managed to finagle a senator into "confessing" that he sunk Jimmy Hoffa and lost the body), and Opus briefly took up the position of the paper's ombudsman and had to deal with a steady stream of complaints and abuse.

[[folder: Fan Works]]

** The ''Daily Prophet'' knowingly published libelous articles by [[ImmoralJournalist Rita Skeeter]] and spends the first year of the return of Voldemort to defame Potter and Dumbledore to the point the wizarding public becomes more susceptible to manipulation by Death-Eaters.

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': A Season 5 arc features a sleazy media mogul named Robert Dunbrook who owns more than 20 publications. One of his newspapers is The Ledger which runs stories on every perceived scandal the owner can come up with... everything from corrupt politicians to UN-proven sexual harassment by various city leaders. In "[[Recap/CSINYS05E15 The Party's Over]]," the paper sensationalizes the "Blue Flu" when most of the NYPD goes on strike due to not being paid when the fund their salaries come from dries up. Dunbrook then turns around and donates twenty million dollars to the city to make himself look good. At one point, Mac confronts Dunbrook during a photo shoot. A young woman being photographed for the cover of The Ledger is wearing only a low-cut top with an NYPD logo on it, an NYPD cap and a thong, while eating a donut. Dunbrook is handed a printed shot of this with the heading "New York's Finest" which he approves while speaking to Mac, who's looking on in disgust. There is a momentary zigzag in [[Recap/CSINYS05E25 the season finale]], though, when The Ledger's cover story is a memorial for an NYPD officer who was killed in the line of duty.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' has Occulture, a ConspiracyTheorist magazine that primarily discuss the Paradox Pokemon. While the Pokemon they discuss are real, they tend to make completely baseless claims about their origins in the Pokedex, such as claiming that Iron Thorns and Scream Tail are from a billion years into the future and past respectively and, most infamously, claims that Iron Jugulus is the offspring between [[{{Robosexual}} a Hydriegon and a robot]].

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/GravedaleHigh'' has Max assign Duzer to work on the school newspaper. She quickly turns it into a tabloid called the Grave Intruder which reports a number of false stories such as Max having a secret crush on Headmistress Crone, Coach Cadaver having a human brain, and Chef Sal cleaning up his kitchen. Chaos ensues until the staff threaten to publish a story claiming that Duzer is in a relationship with Frankentyke.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'' episode "It's the Giant Pumpkin, Martha", T.D. reads a newspaper with ''Wacky News'', which is full of made up stories, like one about a [[AbsurdlyElderlyMother hundred-year-old woman giving birth]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': ZigZagged in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS12E6TheComputerWoreMenaceShoes The Computer Wore Menace Shoes]]". Homer starts a blog under the name "Mr. X" and begins posting whatever rumors he hears, and wins a Pulitzer completely by accident when he uncovers a series of corruption scandals. Unfortunately this causes him to be shunned by the townsfolk who don't want their dirty laundry aired on the Internet, so he starts making stories up altogether to drive clicks, then gets kidnapped when a vaccine conspiracy theory he makes up [[AccidentalTruth turns out to be true]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS6E9BoatingBuddiesTheKrabbyKronicle The Krabby Kronicle]]" is about Mr. Krabs trying to make newspapers. When nobody buys them, he has [=SpongeBob=] act as a journalist to look around town for stories. When that fails as well, he tells [=SpongeBob=] to lie about the happenings just to make a quick buck. For instance, when a police officer is in front of Mrs. Puff, [=SpongeBob=] says that she got pulled over, which, in turn, shut down her Boating School. Another example is when someone punches [[LovableJock Larry]] to see how tough he is, only for [=SpongeBob=] to say that he is a weakling. [=SpongeBob=] sees the negative effects that these stories are having on people and tells Mr. Krabs to stop. Of course, [[MoneyFetish Mr. Krabs]] doesn't, as the newspaper is selling. Eventually [=SpongeBob=] has enough, he and prints a story telling the truth, and how poorly Mr. Krabs is treating him. After this, the townsfolk rightfully beat up Mr. Krabs as they take all of their money back.
[[/folder]]