Final answer:
The 2016 presidential election highlighted the trend of 'fake news' on social media, with misinformation spreading rapidly online, influencing public opinion, and leading to content monitoring by social media companies. Option d.
Step-by-step explanation:
The 2016 presidential election is often associated with the rise of fake news as a significant trend in the use of social media and the internet. The ease of spreading information has resulted in the rapid dissemination of both real and false stories, with fake news even outpacing the truth in terms of spread and influence. An MIT study found that falsehoods are more likely to be believed and shared on platforms like, leading to concerns about the impact of misinformation on public opinion and democracy.
Efforts have been made by social media companies to curb the spread of misinformation, including the monitoring and deletion of accounts spreading untruths, such as President Trump's accounts after the January 6th insurrection. In addition, studies have suggested that crowdsourcing ratings and encouraging users to assess the accuracy of information can be effective in combatting fake news.