The wait is over. Wednesday night, President Trump finally revealed his winners, or what he’s also referred to as “losers” — we’re not really sure which he’s sticking to — of the Fake Media Awards.
Back in January, he announced that he was postponing the original date to Jan. 17, assuring the public, “The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!” But the White House was rather cryptic about it, and after Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at the White House press briefing Tuesday that the awards could be a “potential event,” the suspense just kept building!
People got antsy (I mean, how could you not)?
Trevor Noah, who sent out a “for your consideration” ad in The New York Times, was among them. “The Daily Show” tweeted hours before the reveal, “Make America Wait Again #TheFakies #FakeNewsAwards,” and “Wait, what if the ‘Fake News’ Awards are actually the ‘Fake’ News Awards?”
Wait, what if the “Fake News” Awards are actually the “Fake” News Awards? #FakeNewsAwards pic.twitter.com/ytS007yU54
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) January 17, 2018
The Twitter account belonging to comedian Jordan Klepper’s “The Opposition” even released a mock Red Carpet special.
Hey @theDailyShow, @FullFrontalSamB, @ColbertLateShow, if you’re waiting for the Fake News Awards to start, don’t worry, our sexy Red Carpet special is just heating up over at the Jeff Bezos @WashingtonPost! pic.twitter.com/73D0nG7Hjv
— The Opposition (@TheOpposition) January 17, 2018
But sure enough, Trump pulled through (sort of). At around 8:00 p.m. Wednesday he tweeted a link to a GOP blog post entitled “The Highly Anticipated 2017 Fake News Awards.” The New York Times reported that the link didn’t actually work until after 9:00 p.m. (As New York Magazine put it, “The link was broken, like everything else.”)
Up until almost 9:00 this morning, the tweet was pinned at the top of Trump’s Twitter feed.
And the FAKE NEWS winners are…https://t.co/59G6x2f7fD
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
The list of winners, written by “Team GOP,” resembled a press release. It began, “2017 was a year of unrelenting bias, unfair news coverage, and even downright fake news. Studies have shown that over 90% of the media’s coverage of President Trump is negative.” (At the bottom of the post, Team GOP then listed accomplishments made by the Trump administration to undermine this negativity.)
The winners consisted of individual news stories (or, in the Washington Post and TIME’s case, tweets) as opposed to a ranking of news outlets in general. The New York Times made the list twice: once for a story released on the day of Trump’s 2016 victory, and another for “FALSLEY” claiming that the Trump administration hid a climate report (which the Washington Post reported had been “publicly available for seven months.”)
In terms of the story The New York Times released on the day Trump won the 2016 election — what the GOP post quotes as, “Paul Krugman Says Markets Will ‘Never’ Recover From Trump; Dow Hits Record High” — the publication has another take on it.
According to them, what Op-Ed columnist Krugman (emphasis on Op-Ed) actually wrote was, “If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is never.”
Krugman’s response?
I get a “fake news award” for a bad market call, retracted 3 days later, from 2000-lie man, who still won’t admit he lost the popular vote. Sad! https://t.co/1nTalrRxxm
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) January 18, 2018
As predicted, ABC’s Brian Ross made the list for his erroneous report that Trump directed former national security adviser Michael Flynn to make contact with the Russians before the election, when he’d allegedly made the request after the election.
Brian Ross read a retraction on air, and ABC issued an apology:
.@ABC News statement on Michael Flynn report: https://t.co/sd9TeFiiLQ pic.twitter.com/UtHFHeuwcM
— ABC News (@ABC) December 2, 2017
CNN appeared on the list not once, not twice, but four times for its erroneous WikiLeaks report back in December, “FALSELY editing a video” of Trump and two other reports related to the ongoing Russian investigation.
President Trump feeds fish with PM Shinzo Abe in Japan, then pours the entire box of food into the koi pond. pic.twitter.com/CQjGGf5k0J
— Veronica Rocha (@VeronicaRochaLA) November 6, 2017
Newsweek also made it on the list.
Fake News Awards: Newsweek came in 8th place! https://t.co/7keSmiR1DS pic.twitter.com/Un6BItIfSi
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 18, 2018
Last but not least, Trump gave his 11th award to “RUSSIA COLLUSION,” which the post claimed “is perhaps the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people. THERE IS NO COLLUSION!”
Trump later took to Twitter, adding, “Despite some very corrupt and dishonest media coverage, there are many great reporters I respect and lots of GOOD NEWS for the American people to be proud of!”
Despite some very corrupt and dishonest media coverage, there are many great reporters I respect and lots of GOOD NEWS for the American people to be proud of!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
Check out the full list of Fake Media Awards “winners” below as the GOP site listed them:
1. The New York Times’ Paul Krugman claimed on the day of President Trump’s historic, landslide victory that the economy would never recover.
2. ABC News’ Brian Ross CHOKES and sends markets in a downward spiral with false report.
3. CNN FALSELY reported that candidate Donald Trump and his son Donald J. Trump, Jr. had access to hacked documents from WikiLeaks.
4. TIME FALSELY reported that President Trump removed a bust of Martin Luther King, Jr. from the Oval Office.
5. Washington Post FALSELY reported the President’s massive sold-out rally in Pensacola, Florida was empty. Dishonest reporter showed picture of empty arena HOURS before crowd started pouring in.
6. CNN FALSELY edited a video to make it appear President Trump defiantly overfed fish during a visit with the Japanese prime minister. Japanese prime minister actually led the way with the feeding.
7. CNN FALSELY reported about Anthony Scaramucci’s meeting with a Russian, but retracted it due to a “significant breakdown in process.”
8. Newsweek FALSELY reported that Polish First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda did not shake President Trump’s hand.
9. CNN FALSELY reported that former FBI Director James Comey would dispute President Trump’s claim that he was told he is not under investigation.
10. The New York Times FALSELY claimed on the front page that the Trump administration had hidden a climate report.
11. And last, but not least: “RUSSIA COLLUSION!” Russian collusion is perhaps the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people. THERE IS NO COLLUSION!
You can view the full GOP blog post here.
Did the awards happen? Sure. Was it anticlimactic? Absolutely.
Most of the outlets on this list admitted their errors. Some journalists even faced consequences (Ross was suspended and three CNN reporters resigned).
Instead of giving out Golden Globe-sized trophies, shiny medals or any type of award worthy of display, Trump kind of just did what he’s always done: called them out. On Twitter.
