President Donald Trump offered a robust defense of Sinclair Broadcast Group on Monday, saying the company that owns and operates scores of local news stations, was superior to both CNN and NBC — both of which he called fake news.
“So funny to watch Fake News Networks, among the most dishonest groups of people I have ever dealt with, criticize Sinclair Broadcasting for being biased,” Trump tweeted. “Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/980799183425802240
Over the weekend, Deadspin tweeted out a devastating mashup of Sinclair broadcasters from around the country repeating right wing anti-media talking points ordered from its parent company.
“But we’re concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country. The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media,” reads broadcasters in the video.
“More alarming, some media outlets publish these same fake stories… stories that just aren’t true, without checking facts first. Unfortunately, some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control ‘exactly what people think’…This is extremely dangerous to a democracy.”
Sinclair currently owns or operates 173 local television stations across the United States. The company has long sought to acquire competitor Tribune Media, a deal which would put their broadcasting within reach of 72 percent of all Americans.
The president may have been watching “Morning Joe” this morning, which dedicated considerable coverage to blasting Sinclair.
“Does that not remind you so much of what we as Americans and what those of us in the free world mocked from Soviet block country during 50, 45 years of the Cold War and we said, ‘that’s what separates us from them,’” said co-host Joe Scarborough.
CNN’s Brian Stelter pointed out that the president could have tuned in CNN’s programming as well, which could have inspired him to tweet.
Here's our @CNN segment about Sinclair that seemed to provoke @realDonaldTrump's tweet… https://t.co/ttMNOE7XOS
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 2, 2018