Fake news has been described as false information broadcast or published as news for deceptive and/or political motivated purposes.
Relentlessly, President Trump has labeled as false news accounts that fail to portray him in a favorable light. He has disparaged those grilling him as shameless perpetrators of false news intended to dishonestly smear him.
The problem is he has rarely, if ever, furnished proof of any credible falsity. Apparently, he feels his loyal following will simply accept the veracity of his continuous anti-press rants if he decrees them often enough; no further supporting justification required.
It reminds me of the “I’m rubber, you’re glue” meme employed by hypocrites attempting to deflect their own shortcomings onto their critics. President Trump has perfected the tactic.
The Washington Post documented 30,573 false or misleading claims during Trump’s first presidential term, an average of 21 per day. Although there’s no documented tally for his second term, yet, it’s been estimated thousands of similar false or misleading statements have resulted with no letup of the fake brainwashing.
Even if later discredited, it’s understandable for a president to express debatable views based on some element of reasonable deliberation. It’s quite another to intentionally concoct claims knowing them to be fictitious and misleading.
Raymond A. Hult, Bountiful