CNN, New York Times Top Trump’s ‘Fake News Awards’

Donald Trump gave the broadcaster CNN four of his “fake news” awards on Wednesday as he used the gimmick to escalate his attacks on media.

The US president singled out The New York Times twice while the broadcaster ABC and the magazines Time and Newsweek were each mentioned once.

Claims of “collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia – a topic which has overshadowed the presidency and is being investigated by a special counsel – was also named.

The so-called “awards” were presented in list form and specified particular stories about his presidency, some of which have previously resulted in apologies.

However the president was mocked online after a link he posted to the list, which was hosted on the Republican Party’s website, failed to load.

A spokesman for the party later said that the surge in traffic had crashed the website, noting it received more hits than ever before.

Details of the awards instead had to be garnered from what appeared to be an archived version of the website before it crashed.

CNN, the broadcaster that Mr Trump has repeatedly clashed with since taking office, was named in four of the 11 awards – more than any other outlet.

One was for when the broadcaster “falsely reported that candidate Donald Trump and his son Donald J. Trump, Jr. had access to hacked documents from WikiLeaks.”

Another was for when it “falsely reported about Anthony Scaramucci’s meeting with a Russian”. Mr Scaramucci was briefly in charge of White House communications.

A third was for when the broadcaster “falsely edited a video to make it appear Mr Trump defiantly overfed fish during a visit with the Japanese prime minister”.

The fourth award was for when CNN “falsely reported that former FBI Director James Comey would dispute President Trump’s claim that he was told he is not under investigation”.

The wording – which included capital letters for the words “falsely” – was constructed by the Republican Party and frames the stories in a negative light.

Reporters for the broadcaster, which has been in an escalating war of words with the president for more than a year, were rejecting his ‘fake news’ criticisms on Wednesday.

Other awards ranged from faulty predictions about the stock market under a Trump presidency to inaccurate reporting, including once instance – from ABC News – that led to a suspension for the reporter involved.

A final award was given to general coverage of the Russian election meddling scandal, which has seen four Trump campaign figures charged with crimes.

That entry read: “And last, but not least: “RUSSIA COLLUSION!” Russian collusion is perhaps the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people. THERE IS NO COLLUSION!”

There was also a list of 11 “results” from a Trump presidency that the media was urged to cover more, including “historic tax cuts” and victories against the terror group Isil.

Critics have seen the “awards” as another attempt by Mr Trump to undermine the free press and shout down broadcasters and newspapers who have broken revelations about him.

However supporters see it as a tongue-in-cheek attempt to call out inaccurate reporting and challenge a media landscape that they believe is tilted against his presidency.

Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday: “Despite some very corrupt and dishonest media coverage, there are many great reporters I respect and lots of GOOD NEWS for the American people to be proud of!”

A Republican Party spokesman wrote on Twitter: “Tonight, [the Republican Party website] saw more traffic than ever before. Even though the servers were scaled up, the interest was even greater than anticipated. Traffic is off the charts. Come back soon.”

The Telegraph