"Fake news resulted from a "propaganda campaign" that was furthered by news organizations and politicians, including President Barack Obama, Emmy Award-winning journalist Sharyl Attkisson told Newsmax TV on Wednesday.

"Before about Sept. 13, if you search the news, you won't find many or any mentions of fake news," Attkisson told "The Steve Malzberg Show." "As soon as there was, in my view, a propaganda campaign to put this on the plate of the American public, the news media and politicians — including President Obama — went hog-wild with the term, and it started making headlines every day.

"It wasn't a new invention — and, yes, fake news exists, but the idea that there's a huge campaign behind it to controversialize certain reports and censor, in my view, certain views is a propaganda campaign."

Attkisson, a former investigative reporter for CBS News, examines the issue in her forthcoming book, "The Smear."

"When David Brock, Hillary Clinton's ally from Media Matters [for America], announced that he would be the arbiter, or help the arbiter of so-called fake news, that sealed the deal that the whole thing is a propaganda effort and a political effort," Attkisson said.

Attkisson said the fake news was "not really an honest effort to seek out facts, but more to determine for other people what truth they should hear." "