
President Donald Trump spent a small proportion of his tweets last week hyping the upcoming "Fake News Awards".
The awards, he claimed, would expose the most "corrupt and biased of the mainstream media", and a number of broadcasters were really excited about them.
The Daily Show is running a full page Oscar-style “For Your Consideration” ad in the New York Times today, aimed at… https://t.co/57SxaiW2vO— Eamon Javers (@Eamon Javers) 1515156768
So excited for Monday’s “MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR!” See you on the red carpet,… https://t.co/15Co6TFR9y— Stephen Colbert (@Stephen Colbert) 1515038285
A day before the awards were initially announced for, Trump tweeted that they would be postponed.
Which was not promising.
They then turned out to be a rather botched affair. On Wednesday, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had no answers as to when the awards would be held, or even how they would be given out. She said there would be an announcement later.
Trump supplied this announcement in the form of a tweet, as most expected:
There was a problem, however. Many users attempting to click the link in his tweet were greeted with a 404 page.
@betsy_klein It got worse. https://t.co/g3Hlyinjnt— Marybeth Glenn (@Marybeth Glenn) 1516237494
@realDonaldTrump A Very Stable Genius has tweeted a 404 for his FAKE NEWS awards. Does anyone see the irony https://t.co/SOiHoSdZW7— Belinda Barnet (@Belinda Barnet) 1516238234
The Trump presidency summarized. Big talk about the #FakeNewsAwards. Deadline comes and goes. Trump tweets out… https://t.co/8hZBwOJNnv— The Hoarse Whisperer (@The Hoarse Whisperer) 1516239467
People speculated that traffic had overloaded the site...
I think Trump broke the GOP website "The site is temporarily offline, we are working to bring it back up. Please t… https://t.co/fOELBLOBHn— Trevor Robb (@Trevor Robb) 1516237572
...as the GOP confirmed:
We know you're waiting to see the results. After the massive demand, our page is back up: https://t.co/DMloqE1Vwe https://t.co/zgk8aQd6AY— GOP (@GOP) 1516244436
Eventually, the link began to work, presenting visitors with a listicle of 11 headlines the GOP considered incorrect reporting.
Trump caveated that he didn't decry all news as fake, directly linking his perception of the quality of reporting to the national optimism of the piece.
In a Washington Post op-ed on Tuesday 16 January, Republican Senator John McCain criticised Donald Trump's use of the term "Fake News":
Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s attitude toward such behavior has been inconsistent at best and hypocritical at worst. While administration officials often condemn violence against reporters abroad, Trump continues his unrelenting attacks on the integrity of American journalists and news outlets. This has provided cover for repressive regimes to follow suit. The phrase “fake news” — granted legitimacy by an American president — is being used by autocrats to silence reporters, undermine political opponents, stave off media scrutiny and mislead citizens. CPJ documented 21 cases in 2017 in which journalists were jailed on “fake news” charges.
Trump’s attempts to undermine the free press also make it more difficult to hold repressive governments accountable. For decades, dissidents and human rights advocates have relied on independent investigations into government corruption to further their fight for freedom. But constant cries of “fake news” undercut this type of reporting and strip activists of one of their most powerful tools of dissent.
HT Mashable