Donald Trump has given out ‘fake news awards’ to members of the US media - a new escalation of the president’s ever-souring relationship with the press.
Trump originally planned to give out the ‘awards’ on 8 January, but postponed the announcement amid the media whirlwind surrounding the publication of Fire and Fury, journalist Michael Wolff’s explosive account of the Trump administration.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The awards are less elaborate than those initially outlined by the president, which would have awarded prizes in a variety of categories.
Trump’s newly published list highlights examples of “fake news” ranging “from minor errors by journalists on social media to news reports that later invited corrections”, The Guardian reports.
The American Civil Liberties Union, well known for taking on legal cases upholding freedom of speech, tweeted that the awards were “the latest in a long list of attacks against our First Amendment and freedom of the press”.
Others also expressed concern about Trump’s unprecedented intervention.
The Seattle Times reporter Mike Rosenberg and economist Davis Rothschild were among those who argued that while the news organisations had admitted their mistakes, the White House attempts to pass off its own inaccurate claims as truth.
Although many commentators reacted to the attack on the media with anger, some couldn’t help but laugh.
Newsweek’s Chris Riotta graciously accepted his award for a story on an awkward greeting between Trump and the wife of the Polish president.
Trump first used the phrase “fake news” in a tweet he posted as president-elect in December 2016, and has used it with increasing frequency since as a weapon in his unprecedented war on the press, adding a new buzzword to the American political lexicon.
Little more than two weeks into 2018, “already… he has posted the phrase ‘fake news’ to Twitter ten times”, The Independent reports.
Moments before unveiling the “winners”, however, the president struck an unusually conciliatory tone towards the press, praising the “many great reporters” in the country - although he failed to name any.
-
A Nipah virus outbreak in India has brought back Covid-era surveillanceUnder the radar The disease can spread through animals and humans
-
Nasa’s new dark matter mapUnder the Radar High-resolution images may help scientists understand the ‘gravitational scaffolding into which everything else falls and is built into galaxies’
-
Is the US about to lose its measles elimination status?Today's Big Question Cases are skyrocketing
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
Trump: A Nobel shakedownFeature The president accepts gold medal he did not earn
-
Trump inches back ICE deployment in MinnesotaSpeed Read The decision comes following the shooting of Alex Pretti by ICE agents
-
Is Alex Pretti shooting a turning point for Trump?Today’s Big Question Death of nurse at the hands of Ice officers could be ‘crucial’ moment for America
-
Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ comes into confounding focusIn the Spotlight What began as a plan to redevelop the Gaza Strip is quickly emerging as a new lever of global power for a president intent on upending the standing world order
-
Trump sues JPMorgan for $5B over ‘debanking’Speed Read Trump accused the company of closing his accounts for political reasons
-
ICE memo OKs forcible entry without warrantSpeed Read The secret memo was signed last May
-
Halligan quits US attorney role amid court pressureSpeed Read Halligan’s position had already been considered vacant by at least one judge
