'Fake news' makes list of most annoying words in 2017

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Tuesday, December 19, 2017
'Fake news' makes list of most annoying words in 2017
In the annual poll of annoying words conducted by Marist, "fake news" snagged the #2 spot.

Fake news? Whatever.

If those words annoy you, you're not alone. Those are the top two phrases in Marist Poll's annual Most Annoying Words list.

The poll, conducted in November, asked 1,074 Americans to choose the most annoying words from a list of five. "Whatever" has topped the list for years but is losing ground now to other annoying phrases, according to Marist.

Here's the break-down of how people voted (3 percent were unsure).

"Whatever" 33 percent

"Fake news" 23 percent

"No offense, but" 20 percent

"Literally" 11 percent

"You know what I mean" 10 percent

According to Marist's data, liberals are more likely to be annoyed by "fake news" than conservatives, while Millennials are less likely to care if you overuse "whatever" than older age groups.