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Fake News Awards

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Fake News Awards
Current: 2018
CountryUnited States
Presented byDonald Trump
First awardedJanuary 17, 2018
WebsiteGop.com/Fake News Awards

The Fake News Awards is a mock award created by U.S. President Donald Trump in recognition of the news outlets he states were responsible for misrepresenting the President or producing false reports both before, and during, his presidency. On January 17, 2018, Trump announced the winners.[1] The announced winners included minor journalistic errors and news reports that were quickly corrected.[2]

Creation

President Trump first proposed the award—then called the "Fake News Trophy"—in a November 2017 tweet.[3] At the time, it was unclear whether he intended to actually create the award.[4]

Trump next mentioned the awards in a January 2, 2018 tweet. At this time, he called the award the "Most Dishonest & Corrupt Media Awards of the Year", and wrote that it would be awarded for "dishonesty & bad reporting in various categories". The awards were scheduled for January 8, 2018 at 5pm CST.[5]

Several late-night talk show hosts, including Samantha Bee and Jimmy Kimmel, satirically campaigned for the award. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert displayed a billboard doing such in New York City's Times Square, with categories including "Least Breitbarty" and "Corruptest Fakeness",[4] and Trevor Noah's The Daily Show bought a full-page ad in The New York Times.[6]

In a January 7 tweet, Trump changed the date to January 17, citing increased interest in the award.[7]

Awards

The initial announcement of the winners was described as a flop, because the Republican Party's website experienced technical difficulties and displayed a 404 error, along with a note that humorously stated "we're making it great again".[3] Eventually, the award winners were announced through Fox News and the Republican Party website on January 17. The ten news stories cited included reports from CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC News, Newsweek and Time. These are the news outlets Trump has deemed "fake" in the past.[citation needed] The "winner" was CNN, after appearing 4 times in the list.[8] An eleventh bonus award was given to reports about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections in general, which Trump called "perhaps the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people".[1]

Reporter Publication Story Comment
1 Paul Krugman New York Times NYT chief economist claimed markets would 'never recover' from Trump presidency Claims made in an opinion piece. Krugman retracted the claim just three days later and wrote that the budget deficits under Trump might actually strengthen the economy in the short run.[9]
2 Brian Ross ABC News Bungled report on former NSA Michael Flynn ABC corrected the error when it was pointed out and Ross was suspended for four weeks and then reassigned by ABC. The report was also linked to a drop of 350 points in the Dow Jones. [10][11]
3 CNN Report claiming Trump campaign had early access to hacked WikiLeaks documents Other mainstream news organizations quickly caught the error and CNN corrected it.[12]
4 Zeke Miller Time Pool report claiming a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. had been removed from the Oval Office. Tweet, not a news story, correction issued after 40 minutes. Apology issued by TIME.[13][14]
5 Dave Weigel Washington Post Tweet with misleading photo suggesting a rally for Trump in Pensacola was not 'packed to the rafters.' Tweet, not a news story, deleted after 20 minutes. Apology issued by reporter.[15]
6 Veronica Rocha CNN CNN edited video to give impression Trump carelessly overfed fish when he was merely following the Japan Prime Minister's lead.[16] Tweet, not a news story. The report accompanying the video actually portrayed Trump's actions in a positive light.[17]
7 Thomas Frank CNN Report claiming Anthony Scaramucci-Russia ties[18] Report later retracted. Three CNN staff members - Pulitzer-Prize nominee Thomas Frank; assistant managing editor Eric Lichtblau (who had recently joined from the New York Times and is a Pulitzer winner himself); and Lex Haris, the executive editor in charge of investigations - resigned.[19]
8 Chris Riotta Newsweek Article claiming Polish first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda did not shake Trump's hand.[20] Correction issued three hours after publication.[21]
9 CNN Report that former FBI director James Comey would dispute Trump's claim he was told he was not under investigation Story quickly corrected.[22]
10 New York Times Report that the Trump administration had hidden a climate-change study
11 Various Various Claims that the Trump campaign "colluded" with Russia The Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections is ongoing.

Reception

The awards were called assault on the freedom of the press and the First Amendment by 2016 presidential candidate Evan McMullin.[23] Trump was also criticized for the awards by Republican Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain.[24] McCain, in an op-ed in The Washington Post, commented that Trump's use of the phrase "fake news" is "being used by autocrats to silence reporters, undermine political opponents, stave off media scrutiny, and mislead citizens".[7]

On Twitter, some media commentators congratulated the award winners, and others mocked the awards. The Twitter account for the New York Daily News expressed disappointment that it did not win an award. The journalist Chris Riotta wrote that he was "honored and humbled" to be included in the awards.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b Siddiqui, Sabrina (January 18, 2018). "Donald Trump faces backlash as he reveals 'Fake News Awards' winners". The Guardian. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  2. ^ Siddiqui, Sabrina (18 January 2018). "Trump faces backlash as he reveals 'Fake News Awards' winners". the Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b Borchers, Callum (January 17, 2018). "Trump's 'Fake News Awards' were a huge flop". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Grynbaum, Michael M.; Flegenheimer, Matt (January 17, 2018). "Trump Hands Out 'Fake News Awards,' Sans the Red Carpet". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  5. ^ Watson, Kathryn (January 2, 2018). "Trump tweets he will announce awards for most 'dishonest' and 'corrupt' media of the year". CBS News. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  6. ^ Serjeant, Jill (January 16, 2018). "'The Fakeys': Comedians turn tables on Trump's 'fake news' awards". Reuters. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Stewart, Emily (January 17, 2018). "John McCain to Donald Trump: stop attacking the press". Vox. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  8. ^ Riley-Smith, Ben; Graham, Chris (January 18, 2018). "Fake News Awards: CNN 'wins' taking 4 out of 11 'accolades' announced by Donald Trump". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ "ABC News apologizes for 'serious error' in Trump report and suspends Brian Ross for four weeks".
  11. ^ [2]
  12. ^ [3]
  13. ^ "A Note to Our Readers". Time. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  14. ^ [4]
  15. ^ [5]
  16. ^ Rocha, Veronica (2017-11-05). "President Trump feeds fish with PM Shinzo Abe in Japan, then pours the entire box of food into the koi pond.pic.twitter.com/CQjGGf5k0J". @VeronicaRochaLA. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  17. ^ [6]
  18. ^ "The "winners" of Trump's fake news awards, annotated". Vox. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  19. ^ "3 CNN staffers resign over retracted Scaramucci-Russia story". POLITICO. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  20. ^ "Donald Trump's handshake was expertly rejected by the Polish first lady". Newsweek. 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  21. ^ [7]
  22. ^ [8]
  23. ^ "The Fake News Awards are another escalation in Trump's assault on press freedoms". Los Angeles Times. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  24. ^ Bredemeier, Ken. "Two Republican Senators Assail Trump for Media Attacks". VOA. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  25. ^ Anuradha, Gayathri (January 17, 2018). "President Trump's Fake News Awards Leave Non-Winners Feeling 'Robbed'". International Business Times. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
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