Fake News

Challenge: Keeping-up With the Lies

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Article in Poynter by Angie Drobnic Holan, 10/28/26

Headline:  “Fact-checking changed journalism. Then the falsehoods changed, too.”

Subhead:  “Twenty years after PolitiFact launched, fact-checkers face an information environment more chaotic than the one they set out to fix”

“PolitiFact started out of discontent with our own field of political journalism. We thought journalists parroted far too many talking points and messages they knew were not true, primarily out of deference to authority. . .”

“Today, whenever a candidate repeats a well-worn lie, it’s standard practice for a story to point out that the claim is false or unsupported by evidence. I think that is the most important accomplishment of the past 20 years. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2026/history-fact-checking-challenges-future-ai/

Despicable Ad Draws Media

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Article in The Bulwark by Will Sommer, 10/22/26

Headline:  “MAGA Media Learns to Love Vile Vivek Ramaswamy Ad”

Subhead:  “For these supposed moral authorities, the only question is whether it works.”

“. . .Instead of denouncing the ad, [Ben] Shapiro said it was no worse than members of the Kennedy family criticizing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., or relatives of Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) opposing his re-election. Besides, Shapiro asked, do you remember when Democrats said JD Vance had sex with a couch?. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/maga-media-learns-to-love-vile-vivek-ramaswamy-ad

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Article in The Nation by Chris Lehman, 10/22/26

Headline:  “Vivek Ramaswamy’s New Attack Ad Should Be a National Scandal”

Subhead:  “The Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate has accused his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, of lying about being raped when she was 12 years old.”

“. . .When the ad surfaced as part of an online poll, it met with a proper wave of outrage and disbelief. A MAGA movement that’s long dismissed and excused sexual assault, up to and including President Donald Trump’s special pleading for the defendants in the Cornell gang-rape case, was now attacking the credibility of a 12-year-old rape victim. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/ramaswamy-acton-attack-ad/– – – – –

Article in Common Dreams by Julia Conley, 10/21/26

Headline:  “Vance Defends ‘Vile’ Ramaswamy Ad, Offering Preview of ‘Venom’ He’s Likely to Deploy in 2028 Race”

Subhead: “Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad exposed him as ‘disgusting, vile, and unfit,’ said one former Republican lawmaker, but ‘JD Vance arrives to show there’s someone even worse.'”

Read the full article at:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/jd-vance-vivek

Rt. Media and Deporting Americans

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Article in Media Matters by Reed McMaster & Ben Van Bloem, 10/14/26

“Right-wing media figures have long spread conspiracy theories against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). During the second Trump administration, this has manifested in calls to deport Omar, an American citizen, citing as supposed evidence the conspiracy theories that have spread for years. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/benny-johnson/maga-media-figures-demanded-and-teased-immigration-action-against-rep-ilhan-omar-and

Media Reported “Little Excursion”?

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Article in Poynter by Amy Sherman and Maria Briceño, 10/6/26z

Headline:  “Trump said the Iran war would last weeks. Now he says the media got it wrong.”

Subhead:  “Trump now says his 4-6 week estimate was about eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat. That’s not what he said at the time.”

“Donald Trump told them would be over in a matter of weeks — has led to higher inflation and energy prices, including for gasoline.

“Now seven months into the conflict, Trump is defending his decision to attack Iran with Israel on Feb. 28, but he’s recasting his initial timeline for what he once labeled a ‘little excursion.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2026/trump-iran-war-timeline-media-fact-check/

At Least One Press Outlet Still at WH!

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Article in The Babylon Bee by Staff

Headline: “Update: ‘The Babylon Bee’ Now The Only News Outlet Left In America With Press Credentials”

“Several media outlets have officially walked out of the White House Press Corps in solidarity with CNN, MS NOW, and Politico after President Trump banned them from the premises. Now, The Babylon Bee is in a unique position as the only remaining news outlet with White House credentials.

“As the only source for news in the White House, The Babylon Bee vows to accurately report every cool thing President Trump does, whether it’s bomb Iran or order a Diet Coke. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/update-the-babylon-bee-now-the-only-news-outlet-left-in-america-with-white-house-credentials

Just Gotta Be On TV!

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Article in the New York Times by Peter Baker, 9/22/26

Headline  :  “After Years as the Star of Must-See TV, Trump Faces the Sting of Cancellation”

Subhead:  “A boycott of the White House press pool by the major networks deprives the president of the oxygen of screen time. But he is still finding ways to get on the air.”

“For President Trump, this is the tree-falls-in-the-forest moment of his administration. If the most television-addicted president in history suddenly finds the cameras missing, is he really still president? Not the kind he has been, anyway.

“Mr. Trump, for whom television is better than any narcotic, finds himself for the first time at least partially deprived of the major networks that have covered nearly every movement and utterance he has made for more than a decade. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/us/politics/trump-television-reporters-cameras.html

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Article in Daily Beast by William Vaillancourt, 9/21/26

Headline: “Press-Starved Trump, 80, Announces Desperate TV Move'”

subhead: “Trump TV” launched on Monday, following a rare lack of television coverage of the president.”

“President Donald Trump has launched his own television channel after banning three networks from the White House television press pool.

“The announcement comes three days after the president angrily removed CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the pool because he doesn’t like their coverage. Those outlets have since sued the administration, claiming a violation of their First Amendment rights.

“Trump TV, the White House announced, would begin airing at 7 p.m. on Monday night. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/press-starved-donald-trump-80-announces-desperate-tv-move/

NBC Interviews a Bot, Really!

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Article in Mediaite by Ahmed Austin Jr., 9/14/26

Headline: “‘How Bizarre Is This?’ NBC News Airs Interview with AI-Generated Actress”

“NBC News aired an interview Monday that entertainment correspondent Chloe Melas conducted with an AI actress named Tilly Norwood.

“The interview premiered on Monday morning’s edition of 3rd Hour of Today. While introducing the interview, co-host Al Roker remarked, ‘How bizarre is this?’ Melas then added it was ‘quite an assignment’ before the segment began.

“Melas effectively did the interview like she would with any other virtual interview, with her speaking to Norwood via video call. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/how-bizarre-is-this-nbc-news-airs-interview-with-ai-generated-actress/

Insulting Women in the Media

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Article in The Wrap by Alyssa Ray, 9/8/26

Headline:  “Trump Launches Back-to-Back Attacks on ‘3rd Rate’ Kaitlan Collins and ‘Unattractive’ Maggie Haberman

Subhead: “’Fake News is getting worse and worse in the U.S.A.,’ the president writes”

“Donald Trump once again publicly criticized CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, launching back-to-back attacks against the female journalists on social media.

On Tuesday, the president kicked off his renewed attacks on female journalists by zeroing in on Collins on Truth Social, where he blasted her as a “3rd rate” anchor. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/trump-attacks-kaitlan-collins-maggie-haberman-truth-social/

Media – Digging Out the Facts

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Article in Mediaite by Kathryn Wilkens, 9/8/26

Headline:  “Trump Rages at Maggie Haberman and New York Mag Over 9/11 Reports: ‘Liars and Scoundrels’

“President Donald Trump erupted at New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and New York magazine on Tuesday over reporting about his whereabouts following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and his plans for this year’s 25th anniversary commemoration, demanding retractions while calling journalists ‘liars and scoundrels’ and attacking Haberman as ‘unattractive both inside and out.’. . .”

“. . .During Tuesday’s Tunnel to Towers event on the Ellipse, Trump recounted being near One Liberty Plaza when two firefighters, fearing the building was about to collapse, grabbed him under the arms, ‘literally lifted me up,’ and carried him away. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump/trump-rages-at-maggie-haberman-and-new-york-mag-over-9-11-reports-liars-and-scoundrels/

Media Claim on Illegal Voters, Deflated

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Article in Media Matters by Hanne MacDonald & Reed McMaster, 8/26/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media repeated Trump administration claims that over 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote — now that “inflated” number is falling apart”

Subhead:  “Right-wing media personalities used unsubstantiated figures from DHS to push for the SAVE America Act and to cast further doubt on election security”

Right-wing media ran with unsubstantiated claims from the Trump administration that the Department of Homeland Security found hundreds of thousands of noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections, often using the figures to cast doubt on state election systems and to push for voting restrictions like the SAVE America Act. However, new reporting shows the administration’s numbers are falling apart. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/index%2Ephp/election-denial-voter-fraud-and-suppression/right-wing-media-repeated-trump-administration-claims