Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the philosophical considerations of fake news and provide an alternative view to current conceptualizations of its binary nature. Through an evaluation of existing research, a typology of fake news is presented that considers thepossibility that the propagation of fake news about a brand, may be stemming from the brand itself, a previously unexploredfield in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach–This is a conceptual paper based on extensive literature review on thefields of fake news and knowledgecreation, resulting in the creation of a synthesized typology.

Findings–The role of power structures greatly influences the ability for a brand to respond to fake news. Externally constructed disinformation is seemingly more difficult for a brand to address, as a result of having limited control over the message. Internally constructed information, while stemming from the brand itself provides the brand with more control, but a greater public distrust as the source of the fake news seems to confirm the disinformation.

Practical implications–This paper presents a typology that contrasts the source of the construction of disinformation and the extent to which thefacts have been fabricated. Furthermore, this paper provides future researchers with an alternate understanding of the conceptualization of fakenews.

Originality/value–This paper is the first of its kind to establish a typology of fake news on the basis of the source of construction ofdisinformation. The source plays an important role when assessing the associated brand risks and developing an approach to combat potential negative implications.