Meanings
- USderogatorygovernmentlamestream media
After 1945 West Germans wisely shunned the word. The East Germans were less inhibited: it was now the West German media that became the capitalist and fascist Lügenpresse.
2016 November 24, “America’s alt-right learns to speak Nazi: “Lügenpresse””, in The Economist, archived from the original on 18 Nov 20201 more example
When a video of two Donald Trump supporters shouting “Lügenpresse” (lying press) started to circulate Sunday, viewers from Germany soon noted its explosive nature. The defamatory word was most frequently used in Nazi Germany.
[2016 October 24, Rick Noack, “The ugly history of ‘Lügenpresse,’ a Nazi slur shouted at a Trump rally”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2016Synonyms: fake news, yellow journalism
Synonyms & antonyms
nounlamestream media
Origin
- GermanLügenpresse“lying press”
- EnglishLügenpresse
Unadapted borrowing from German Lügenpresse (“lying press”).
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Lügenpresse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/L%C3%BCgenpresse
“Lügenpresse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/L%C3%BCgenpresse. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Lügenpresse,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/L%C3%BCgenpresse.
Source: Lügenpresse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.