Dictionary.com chose "complicit," Cambridge Dictionary chose "populism," and Collins went with "fake news" as the 2017 word of the year.  "Collusion" would also have been a good choice; after all, it provided much of the impetus for three of the most tweeted activism hashtags on twitter:  #Resist (1), #ImpeachTrump (3), and #NotMyPresident (6).

Collusion's WOTY credentials are stellar based just on online lookups and trends, plus it was ubiquitous throughout fake news all year, even if the act it inexplicably described – the Trump campaign colluding with Russia during the 2016 election – was illusory.

Since much of the WOTY choice is subjective, I suspect that the liberal lexicographic intelligentsia would give a nod to "collusion" had the Russia investigation uncovered any.  Instead, they may want to divert attention from the fact that Mueller's team is riddled with Clinton sycophants whose sole contribution to uncovering wrongdoing and enforcing accountability was to entrap Michael Flynn into lying about meetings.  It seems that the best (or worst) they can do now is embellish obstruction of justice charges to save face. 

The Russia investigation, run amok and ill founded, represents ignominious futility to its chief proponents: the Dems, the "Resist" movement, and their MSM allies.  They are all mortified by the profusion of collusion stories that simply withered on the tainted news vine.  The spurious accusations of collusion between Trump's presidential campaign and those meddling Russians were the centerpiece of their resistance, providing fodder for their devious machinations to foment the perception that Trump's presidency is illegitimate.

Though deserved, another reason "collusion" might not make WOTY is that the elitist word warriors fear summoning the true ogre of collusion – the ghastly visage of cackling Hillary manipulating her minions in the FBI.  Peter Strzok, a former deputy to the assistant director for counterintelligence at the agency, blatantly changed language in Director Comey's report about Clinton's classified email shenanigans from "grossly negligent" to "extremely careless."  One would have to suspend sound judgement to presume that this is not a form of collusion, especially since the latter depiction carries no criminal consequences.  It wreaks of Deep State leftist collusion.  Say no more, nudge nudge.

Notions of collusion instilled confusion amongst distracted consumers of fake news in 2017 and provided the ill conceived impetus behind obstructionism.  Clearly, "collusion" warrants designation as WOTY 2017 because its selective usage represents the epitome of the perverse propaganda perpetrated by fake news outlets, aka the MSM.  It also encapsulates the Machiavellian tactics of entrapment, scheming, leaking, investigating, surveillance, and gratuitous unmasking perpetrated by the Deep State. 

CBS News recently compiled a list of 12 contenders for 2017 Word of the Year; it includes fake news, alternative facts, and collusion.  Fake news is already spoken for (Collins), and alternative facts, while still relevant, was pervasive last year.  If CBS accedes to journalistic integrity, it will go with collusion and publish a graphic of the dark, dank Deep State labyrinth embossed with the words:  "You can check out anytime you like, but your dossier never leaves."