9 sure-fire ways to make your post go viral

The original version of fake news was called propaganda — originally a means of disseminating the Catholic religion, then from about 1914, a news item meant to promote a political point of view. Propaganda is related to “propagation”, the cultivation of plants to increase them. This is similar to the concept of something “going viral” — spreading so fast that it’s almost like it’s doing it invisibly, like a virus.

So what are the key ingredients of a viral story?

1. Make it untrue ...