If you don't like what you hear
And it's hard to reconcile
What your critics say about you
With your particular governing style,
Discredit your critics, call them dishonest,
Berate and revile them. It's no crime.
Say their news is fake. (We know
That some cults do it all the time.)

Just call it fake news.
Tell me, what have you got to lose?
Facts and truth are now passé;
Don't ever let them get in your way.

If your critics hit too close to home--
If they're on to your plans and schemes--
Finding a way to bash the media
Might be easier than it seems.
Get the public on your side;
Play the victim; whine and cry.
Yell, "Unfair treatment!" and you'll
Get their sympathy by and by.

Just call it fake news.
Tell me, what have you got to lose?
Facts and truth are now passé;
Don't ever let them get in your way.

If the scientific reports
Don't accord with what you think,
And the experts' findings and your
Jockeyed figures aren't in sync,
Make the public skeptical
Of scientific ideas, and then
You'll be able to sway the people
With your false "facts" again and again.

Make your own fake news.
Tell me, what have you got to lose?
Facts and truth are now passé;
Don't ever let them get in your way.

- by Bob B (5-30-17)