The New York Times wrote that President Donald Trump’s attacks of the news media in the U.S. inspired crackdowns on the press in Malaysia and India, confused the public about lies and the truth and weakened trust in news outlets careful about only publishing verifiable reports. (The New York Times, April 4, 2018, by The Editorial Board)
Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post, April 4, 2018, writes that with four out of five Americans believing that traditional news outlets publish “fake news,” the term has lost its usefulness. Trump has labeled any unfavorable story about him fake and used Twitter to berate “Fake News Networks, those that knowingly have a sick and biased AGENDA.” Sullivan concludes, “When words can mean anything, and a truth-averse president has made himself the master of meaning, democracy is in peril.”
For a recent FAC panel discussion, “Fake News and the First Amendment,” click here. For other FAC coverage on the issue, click here and here.