Fake news, puff, hoax i canard. Perspektywa historyka mediów

The aim of this article is to discuss the idea of fictional texts, which were published in the printed press in XVIII and XIX century. The author presents the famous fake news, hoaxes, puffs, and canards and analyzes how these forms were perceived by the press commentators of that time (such as Richard Steele, Joseph Addison, Jonathan Swift, Edgar Allan Poe, Gerard de Nerval, Honore de Balzac, Bruno Kicinski). In the press of the Enlightenment era, which was dominated by essay writing, fictional articles were usually created for satirical purposes and they were used to highlight various human flaws. The development of mass press in the nineteenth century contributed to the fact that publications based on false news were used by journalists for a different purpose. These texts were primarily treated as a tool to gain the reader's attention in order to expand the group of regular subscribers. In the press of the first half of the XIX century, fictitious articles were associated with a romantic appreciation of the imagination. In the history of the media fake news, hoaxes, and canards also served as entertainment. They aroused curiosity, attracted the attention of readers, and they allowed journalists to fill empty columns of periodicals during a period of severe censorship. The research focuses on three countries: England, France and Poland. The comparative perspective shows the differences and similarities in the approach to the problem of fictional texts presented by writers and journalists creating their texts in different languages.