President Trump lauded Sinclair Broadcasting as being “superior” to CNN and “Fake NBC” as the company comes under criticism for requiring anchors at its local television news stations to deliver a canned speech about “false news.”
“So funny to watch Fake News Networks, among the most dishonest groups of people I have ever dealt with, criticize Sinclair Broadcasting for being biased. Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke,” Trump wrote on Monday.
Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which owns or operates 193 television stations across the country, has its newscasters deliver the same speech that warns about “false news” and “fake reporting” during “must run” segments.
The “troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country. The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media,” the script has the anchors proclaiming, adding: “This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.”
The spots began running last month, CNN reported, even though staffers at some of the stations balked at delivering the controversial message.
”It sickens me the way this company is encroaching upon trusted news brands in rural markets,” a Sinclair reporter told CNNMoney.
A video of the spots went viral over the weekend after Deadspin posted a mash-up of Sinclair anchors across the country reciting the same lines.
