The paper looks at the phenomenon of fake news in the modern media. Attempts have been made to provide the theoretical background of the phenomenon of fabricating information and clarify the signs of false messages. The empirical review deals with the trends in spreading fake news in the media landscape. We rank fake news topics by popularity; examine the issues of changing public trust in various news media as a source of information; structure the sources of misinformation and identify the major motives behind them; and discuss positive and negative outcomes of posting fake news. The study shows that propaganda is effective if society receives customized information that triggers the expected emotional response of the target audience. For these purposes, the article establishes the fundamental mechanisms for using fake news. The research presents the criteria for identifying fake news and develops its classification according to the degree of falsity. The generalization conducted makes it possible to conceptualize the phenomenon of fake news. The research results aim to resolve the problem of recognizing and controlling fake news in the mass media.