It’s bad enough that we have to endure fake news.  But at least untruths and half-truths can be debunked.

More insidious than fake news is flake news — those trifling stories peeping out from beneath lurid headlines trying desperately to generate buzz without even the most lethargic mosquito’s wings to carry them.

SEE IT: Melania slaps away Trump’s hand in Israel, screams the Daily News, proving once again how the media can overlook the most substantive world events in rabid pursuit of the inconsequential.

The brief episode of finger-play probably meant nothing.  And if the Trumps’ marriage is on the rocks, no doubt we will find out about it in good time.  For the moment, however, let’s table the issue to devote a little more attention to the war on global terror and the quest for world peace.

Shall we?