"Fake" news has been described as  "Sources that entirely fabricate information, disseminate deceptive content, or grossly distort actual news reports" (opensources.co)

Fake news is created to deliberately misinform or deceive readers. These stories are created to either influence people’s views, push a political agenda or cause confusion. Fake news stories can deceive people by appearing as trusted websites or using similar names and web addresses to reputable news organizations (webwise.ie).

Other definitions (from Oxford English Dictionary) include Misinformation and Disinformation: 

• Misinformation - The action of misinforming someone; the condition of being misinformed, or wrong or misleading information.

• Disinformation - The dissemination of deliberately false information, esp. when supplied by a government or its agent to a foreign power or to the media, with the intention of influencing the policies or opinions of those who receive it; false information so supplied.
• Malinformation -  Based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate (definition by Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - CISA).

"Yellow Journalism" is an early example of fake news.  The term comes from the 1890's when rival newspaper publishers Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) and William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal) manipulated facts and sensationalized articles to attract more readers.  The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) can tell you more about this early example. 

Also: "Yellow Journalism: The “Fake News” of the 19th Century"  from The Public Domain Review (website).

The Lucrezia Borgia of journalism.  N.Y. Published by Keppler & Schwarzmann. Puck Building. September 7. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress <www.loc.gov/item/2011647619/>.

Articles  

2022-

McQuade, Barbara. "5 disinformation tactics voters should guard against before Election Day" (opinion) The Detroit Free Press February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024

Sanderson, Katharine. "Science’s fake-paper problem: high-profile effort will tackle paper mills." Nature January 19, 2024.  Retrieved January 23, 2024.

Affelt, Amy. "A Kernal of Truth in it: Malinformation Moves to the Forefront of Fake News." Information Today 09 2022: 29-31. ProQuest. Web. 19 Jan. 2023.

Gonzalez, Oscar. "The misinformation pandemic is out of control, but there's a fix." c|net (website). January 3, 2022