Media Misinformation

Epstein in Media Again

by


Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 7/7/25

Headline:  “MAGA media eat their own after Trump administration denies their Epstein conspiracy theories”

“. . .The White House brought 15 MAGA influencers in to meet with Bondi in February, sending them home with glossy binders labeled ‘The Epstein Files: Phase 1.’ When those binders did not satisfy the MAGA faithful, the attorney general reportedly tasked ‘hundreds of FBI employees’ with reviewing Epstein investigation documents for release. In May, Patel and Bongino were sent to Fox to make the case, with the fervor of the converted, that Epstein had actually killed himself. And now the FBI and DOJ have produced a memo detailing their findings and released footage taken from outside Epstein’s cell in the hours surrounding his suicide.

“The final result left Trump’s most zealous online allies with two options: They could finally acknowledge that they had been peddling nonsense for years — or they could insinuate that the Trump administration itself is part of the cover-up. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/maga-media-eat-their-own-after-trump-administration-denies-their-epstein-conspiracy

Talk Show Bias?

by


Article in FAIR by Keiwana Grant-Floyd & Julie Hollar, 7/1/25

Headline:  “FAIR Study: Sunday Talkshows Downplayed Criticism During Trump’s Second Transition”

“. . . After Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2016 and 2024 elections, the Sunday shows had an opportunity to hold up both his campaign promises and his cabinet picks to scrutiny. With his campaigns’ racist attacks on immigrants and diversity initiatives, as well as his movement’s assaults on the rights of women and trans people, inviting guests who more accurately reflect the diversity of the country would seem to be a journalistic imperative. Yet a new FAIR study finds that the Sunday shows’ coverage of the Trump transitions were even more heavily white and male than usual.”

read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/fair-study-sunday-talkshows-downplayed-criticism-during-trumps-second-transition/

No Clowning With the News

by


Article in Poynter by Clara O’Rourke, 6/30/25

Headline: “When Jon Stewart took over ‘The Daily Show,’ satire became a trusted news source”

Subhead:  “Fed up with ‘partisan hackery,’ Stewart trumped traditional media for some fans — even with a show that followed ‘puppets making crank phone calls’ “

“. . .While he didn’t invent political satire, ‘The Daily Show’ evolved into a trusted source of news under his leadership, especially for some younger Americans who turned to it not just for laughs, but for clarity about what was actually happening in the world. By lampooning news cycle after news cycle, Stewart reframed what reporting could look like and who could credibly relay — as he said opening his first ‘Daily Show’ as host . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2025/poynter-50-jon-stewart-satire-news/

Media Cheerleader for Republicans?

by


Article in Daily Kos by Oliver Willis, 6/28/25

Headline:  “Why Republicans desperately want the media to be their cheerleaders”

“Following the decision to bomb Iranian nuclear targets without first seeking congressional approval, the Trump administration renewed its ongoing war against the media for reporting factual information.
Republicans want cheerleading, not journalism.

“President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and other Republicans challenged reporting that revealed that the Pentagon did not believe Iran’s nuclear capability had been decimated. In fact, the Trump administration argued that journalists should celebrate Trump’s actions. . .”

Republicans, particularly Trump and his orbit, have spent more than a decade whining about media coverage—which has largely been laudatory of him and has promoted his favored (false) narratives—but this week’s behavior explicitly argued that the press should “cheer” for Trump, as Hegseth said. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/28/2330499/-Why-Republicans-desperately-want-the-media-to-be-their-cheerleaders?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_1&pm_medium=web

Meltdown on the Media

by


Article in Daily Beast by Sarah Ewall-Wice, 6/25/25

Headline:  “Trump, 79, Melts Down in Incoherent Rant About ‘Hero Pilots’ “

Subhead:  “The president attacked the media for reporting on the initial intelligence assessment on Iran.”

“President Donald Trump accused the media of demeaning the military after the initial U.S. intelligence report on Iran leaked.

“The president did not deny the existence of the preliminary assessment or its content, which suggested the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities resulted in limited damage, but he insisted it was wrong.

“He also claimed to have spoken to one of the pilots, who told him it was a ‘perfect’ bomb drop.
Trump first harangued reporters with claims that they attacked the brave men and women who carried out what was an operationally successful mission on Saturday night to drop the bombs and exit Iran without being fired on.

“ ‘They were maligned and treated very bad, demeaned by fake news CNN,‘ Trump claimed on Wednesday.  The media did report on the U.S. intel assessment, but it did not demean pilots who carried out the mission. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-79-melts-down-in-incoherent-rant-about-hero-pilots/

Special Media Strategy

by

Article in The New Republic, 6/25/25

Headline:  “Nancy Mace Is the Future of the Republican Party”

Subhead:  “The South Carolina representative isn’t just a bigot and a laughingstock. She’s pioneering a media strategy that her GOP colleagues will follow.”

“. . .If there is a through line connecting the incongruous halves of Mace’s political career, it is an all-consuming desire for attention . . . Mace eagerly played the right notes for reporters in search of the GOP’s next generation. . .”

“Outlets like Washingtonian and Slate claim that some congressional offices, like Mace’s, ‘have become PR firms for attention-hungry members who see their job … as building a personal brand.’  Like Trump, Mace is fashioning an identity built on short-term populism. Meanwhile, staffers spoke with Washingtonian about Mace’s mistreatment and the fact she used her office as a means to get on TV. . .”

Read the full article at:

zhttps://newrepublic.com/article/196207/nancy-mace-future-republican-party

MAGA Media Turning on Themselves?

by


Update:

Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 6/23/25

Headline: “The Fractured Faithful”

Subhead: “Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran have poured fuel on an already raging MAGA Media feud, forcing its stars to choose between a hawkish foreign policy and isolationist ideals”

“Over the weekend, Donald Trump unilaterally plunged the U.S. into war with Iran, ordering strikes on three nuclear sites inside the country. The decision has sent shockwaves through the MAGA Media ecosystem, where over the last week its top personalities have clashed over what action Trump should—or should not—take.

“As hawks like Mark Levin and Sean Hannity celebrated Trump’s move as historic and heroic, the more isolationist wing of the new right-wing media ecosystem have been far more quiet. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/maga-media-trump-iran-strikes

– – – – –

Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 6/16/25

Headline:  “Tucker’s War Cry”

Subhead:  “Tucker Carlson’s fiery attacks on Fox News and pro-Israel MAGA Media figures have exposed a rare and consequential rift within the far-right ecosysten”

“On Monday morning, Tucker Carlson joined Steve Bannon’s “War Room” and launched a broadside at some of his peers in MAGA Media, accusing them of fanning the flames of war in the Middle East. Carlson singled out Mark Levin as ‘terrible on TV’ and claimed the talk show host “kind of controls” Sean Hannity ‘in this weird way.’ But his harshest words were reserved for his former employer, Fox News. . .”

“ ‘What they’re doing is what they always do, which is just turning up the propaganda hose to full blast and just trying to knock elderly Fox viewers off their feet and make them submit to where you want them to,’ Carlson said. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/tucker-s-war-cry-4126715f1915019b

Media Beating a War Drum?

by


Article in The New Republic by Edith Olmsted, 6/23/25

Headline:  “Fox News Played Unsettling Role in Trump’s Decision to Bomb Iran”

Subhead:  “Here’s where Donald Trump got the idea to strike three of Iran’s nuclear facilities”

“Donald Trump’s decision to drag the United States into a war in the Middle East was all about how it would look on television.

“The New York Times reported Sunday that Trump had been effusive about Israel’s sweeping military operation in Iran, targeting the latter country’s ballistic missile and nuclear facilities, military officials, and nuclear scientists.

” ‘Ever the entertainer, Trump asked an ally how the Israeli strikes were “playing” on Friday June 13. ‘He said that “everyone” was telling him he needed to get more involved,’ the Times reported, but it’s not clear who exactly Trump was talking about.

“The next day, Trump’s team reportedly paid close attention to how his supporters were responding to Israel’s military campaign. Meanwhile, Trump kept his eyes glued to Fox News as it aired “wall-to-wall praise” of Israel’s operation and hosted guests urging the president to wade into the conflict. . .”

“Last week, CNN’s Brian Stelter reported that Fox News had gone all in on attacking Iran. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/post/197110/donald-trump-bomb-iran-fox-news-role-decision

 

Facts for the Media?

by


Article in FAIR by Emma Llano, 6/20/25

Headline:  “Top Papers Dutifully Echo Cooked-Up Charges Against Abrego Garcia”

“Kilmar Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States on June 6, after being wrongly deported to El Salvador almost three months earlier. Abrego Garcia had been detained in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center since March 15, along with more than 250 other immigrants accused of belonging to the Latin American gangs Tren de Aragua and MS-13. . .”

“Though there are plenty of reasons to cast doubt on the charges made against Abrego Garcia, in the seven articles published in the wake of his return, the New York Times . . . and Wall Street Journal, . . .  present them mostly at face value. Given that the publications are the top two largest newspapers in America, their deficient coverage of one of the most important immigration cases of the second Trump administration is noteworthy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/top-papers-dutifully-echo-cooked-up-charges-against-abrego-garcia/

Media Driving War?

by


Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 6/18/25

Headline:  “Trump’s Fox News obsession is driving the U.S. toward war with Iran”

“President Donald Trump appears to be careening toward a U.S. military strike on Iran as current and former Fox News figures — from posts on the network’s airwaves, elsewhere in the right-wing media ecosystem, and within his administration — fight to influence his decision.

“For years, Trump’s obsession with the Fox universe has driven policy decisions, administration staffing, and countless stream-of-consciousness social media posts. Now, the network will have an outsized role in determining America’s potential involvement in a spiraling regional military conflict.

” ‘The George W. Bush administration spent months “following a meticulously planned strategy to persuade the public, the Congress and the allies of the need to confront the threat from Saddam Hussein’ before finally launching that war in March 2003. That strategy — based on cooked intelligence about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction dishonestly sold to American people — resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 U.S. service members and more than 200,000 Iraqi civilians as well as a massive financial cost. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trumps-fox-news-obsession-driving-us-toward-war-iran