The rise of fake news and other types of disinformation has sparked academic interest in examining the reasons some individuals fall for online falsehoods and with what consequences. But an equally important and fundamental question is why some people produce and disseminate fake news to begin with. Unlike in traditional media outputs, such as real news, the production of online falsehoods tends to be less visible, with fake news creators, troll farms, and other players operating clandestinely. This chapter examines the economics of fake news, from the financial motivations behind its production, the incentives behind its distribution, the strategies it employs to attract audiences, and the economic implications of its propagation.