Fake News

CNN and MAGA Mouthpiece

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Article in Daily Beast by Ewan Palmer, 3/3/26

Headline:  “CNN Staff Furious After MAGA Pundit Boosts Trump War Propaganda”

Subhead:  “The complaints about Scott Jennings were so severe that senior leaders at the network were called in.”

“CNN’s MAGA mouthpiece Scott Jennings left journalists at the network furious after he shared Iran war propaganda from Donald Trump that contradicted their own reporting.

Several staff complaints were made against Jennings, a firebrand figure who is often rude and dismissive during his CNN appearances, after he claimed he received intel about why the president had launched an attack on Iran, according to Status. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/cnn-staff-furious-after-maga-pundit-scott-jennings-boosts-donald-trump-iran-war-propaganda/

Fox News Wags the Trump?

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 3/3/26

Headline: “In Iran, the most consequential test of the Fox-Trump feedback loop yet”

“President Donald Trump, across both of his terms, has regularly shaped federal policy in response to the propaganda he hears from his sycophants at Fox News. But his decision over the weekend to launch a war of choice against Iran without a clear goal may prove to be the most consequential example of this feedback loop to date.

“Trump is deeply immersed in the Fox universe. He famously consumes the network’s content; highlights particular segments that strike his fancy on social media; hires its employees to run his administration; consults its personalities for advice on domestic and foreign policy; and doles out contracts and pardons alike based on what he sees on its airwaves. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/iran-most-consequential-test-fox-trump-feedback-loop-yet

Noem Media Interview Trouble?

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Article in Raw Story by Robert Davis, 1/29/26

Headline: “Analysts blown away by Kristi Noem’s ‘unbelievable’ Fox News interview”

“. . .Then administration officials like Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller smeared Pretti by calling him a “domestic terrorist” and claiming he brandished a weapon at immigration officers, two claims that the administration has since distanced itself from.”

“Noem attempted to clean up her part of the mess on Hannity’s show on Thursday, but it appears she may have made it worse. . .”

” ‘So @Sec_Noem, you publicly call the dead protester a “domestic terrorist” right away, and THEN you investigate to see if the person really was a domestic terrorist? That’s how you do things? That’s really ass-backwards,’ former Republican congressman Joe Walsh posted on X. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/kristi-noem-2675060811/?utm_source=front-sidebar-watch

Was She Wrong on Epstein Suicide?

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Article in AlterNet by Carl Gibson, 1/29/26

Headline: “Epstein reporter reveals ‘one of the most suspicious aspects’ of his death”

“Before he died in prison, convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein was reportedly attacked in his cell, extorted by his cellmate and slipped a handwritten note into a book.

That’s according to Miami Herald investigative journalist Julie K. Brown, who initially broke the story that led to the first arrests of Epstein and his chief accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. In a Thursday post to her Substack entitled “Why I don’t believe Jeffrey Epstein Killed Himself (Part 2),” Brown delved into Bureau of Prisons records about an apparent suicide attempt that took place not long after he arrived at New York City’s Metropolitan Corrections Center in the summer of 2019. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/epstein-reporter-suspicious/

For CBS – Germs Are Now “Woke”?

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Article in The Guardian by Jason Wilson, 1/29/26

Headline:  “Bari Weiss’s new CBS hires include ‘germ theory denialist’ doctor”

Subhead:  “Dr Mark Hyman, who claimed he reduced his biological age by 20 years, brought on as a contributor”

“Among the new hires at CBS announced by Bari Weiss is a doctor who has claimed that he has reduced his biological age by 20 years with therapies including cold plunges; that cod liver oil can treat autism and that conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia can be reversed with the kind of nutritional supplements he also sells on his online store.

“Dr Mark Hyman, who has been called a “germ theory denialist” by the medical author Harriet Hall, and has been brought on as a contributor in Weiss’s revamping of CBS’s news division. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/29/bari-weiss-cbs-mark-hyman

Getting the Propaganda Right?

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones 1/27/26

Headline:  “Opinion | How bystander video and newsroom analysis undercut the White House narrative on Alex Pretti”

Subhead:  “The administration tried to shape the story, but evidence and detailed analysis appear to have forced a rare recalibration”

“. . .In the minutes and hours and days after ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot 10 times and killed by Border Patrol agents on Saturday, many inside the Trump administration immediately pointed fingers at Pretti. They said he was ‘brandishing’ a gun. They called him a ‘domestic terrorist.’ They said he meant to ‘massacre law enforcement.’

“Some conservative media outlets ran with that storyline.

“None of these statements were rooted in truth. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/video-evidence-alex-pretti-white-house-messaging/

Re. Wing Media & ICE

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Article in Media Matters by Staff, 1/26/26

Headline:  “On The Weeknight, Angelo Carusone discusses conservative media reaction to ICE and how it drives Trump’s decision making”

“…It’s Trump and other decision makers that actually have the ability to control the levers of what ICE is doing here. And a big thing that they’re reacting to is how the media, the part that the media that they care about, the right-wing media is reacting to it. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/ms-now-msnbc/weeknight-angelo-carusone-discusses-conservative-media-reaction-ice-and-how-it-drives

Greeniceland, No Problem

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 1/22/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Trump misspoke at Davos. Karoline Leavitt told reporters not to believe their ears.”

Subhead:  “During a speech, Trump repeatedly referred to Iceland while talking about Greenland. Then the press secretary denied what the video plainly shows.”

“Greenland? Iceland? What is President Donald Trump talking about? . . .”

“Meanwhile — and this is the larger concern — Leavitt losing her cool and trying to gaslight a reporter by saying the reporter didn’t hear what the world clearly heard only makes Leavitt and the administration look more deceitful and, quite frankly, shady. Somehow, Leavitt’s remarks made the matter even worse. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/did-trump-call-greenland-iceland-davos-speech/

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargent, 1/22/26

Headline:  “Trump Press Sec. Goes Full Cult as Reviews of Davos Fiasco Turn Brutal”

Subhead:  “As Karoline Leavitt and others struggle to spin Trump’s speech as a world-historical triumph, a critic of Trump’s unfitness explains why it was a disaster for our whole country and its future.”

“. . .White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt unleashed an extraordinary stream of obsequious praise, absurdly declaring that “America is back” and that Trump played “leader of the free world.” When reporters savagely noted the Greenland-Iceland confusion, she offered a true knee-slapper of buffoonish damage control. We think it all exposed the scam at the core of MAGA in a fresh way. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/205528/trump-press-sec-goes-full-cult-reviews-davos-fiasco-turn-brutal

Right Media Escalate Conflict?

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel & Sophie Lawton

Headline:  “Right-wing media are describing pro-immigrant Minnesota activists using the language of war”

Subhead:  ” ‘Civil war,’ ‘insurgents,’ ‘a guerilla tactical playbook’ — these are just some of the ways MAGA pundits are describing civil resistance to Trump’s ICE rampages”

“Right-wing media figures and outlets are using the language of war to characterize protests against the presence of violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota. . .”

“While some in right-wing media have referred to anti-ICE demonstrations as an “insurrection” since at least October, the overall tenor of right-wing rhetoric has escalated dramatically in recent days. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-are-describing-pro-immigrant-minnesota-activists-using-language-war

Fake News for Fake Journalist?

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Article in Daily Beast by Jack Revell, 1/2/26

Headline:  “MAGA’s Favorite ‘Journalist’ Busted Paying to Fake ‘News’”

“The ‘journalist’ at the center of a viral clash over alleged Somalian welfare fraud once paid Hispanic laborers to protest outside the White House in support of President Joe Biden.

“Nick Shirley, 23, is currently being praised and amplified by the MAGA right, including FBI Director Kash Patel and billionaire Elon Musk, for a video purporting to reveal ‘Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal.’

“While the YouTuber with no journalism background and only a high school-level education claims to ‘bring the truth to all’ of his 1.35 million subscribers, he has previously been shown to be staging his content. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/magas-fav-journalist-paid-hispanic-laborers-for-bizarre-stunt/

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Article in Babylon Bee by Staff, 1/2/26

Headline:  “Republicans Vow To Uncover All Somali Fraud And Then Do Nothing About It Except Fundraise”

“With allegations of money laundering in Minnesota and other states growing by the day, Republican lawmakers in Washington have vowed to uncover all Somali fraud in Minnesota and then do nothing about it except to fundraise for future elections.

“It is absolutely vital that we uncover as much fraud in Minnesota as possible so that we can fundraise off it,’Senate Majority Leader John Thune said. ‘Some of us have elections coming up.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/republicans-vow-to-uncover-all-somali-fraud-and-then-do-nothing-about-it-except-fundraise