CNN’s Brian Stelter Exposes Trump’s Reliance on Fringe Websites for Invented News

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:02 pm

It is typical of Donald Trump’s campaign that while he was railing against the press for allegedly telling lies about him, CNN’s Brian Stelter was taking Trump to task for using falsified materials, including “made up articles” and “made-up charts,” for his rallies.

Trump, who says whatever he wants even if it is completely false, hypocritically tweeted, “It is not ‘freedom of the press’ when newspapers and others are allowed to say and write whatever they want even if it is completely false!” Stelter, who has previously advocated for fact-checking Trump’s utterances, asked, “If he’s going to hold up made-up articles … how can we believe what he’s actually saying?”

It has already been demonstrated that about 90 percent of what comes out of Trump’s mouth is a lie. His acceptance speech at the RNC was full of lies and his crime statistics were invented. This, Stelter makes clear, is not an aberration.

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Appearing on CNN’s Reliable Sources Sunday, Stelter exposed the unreliable sources Trump uses – Stelter calls them “creepy websites” – to get his point across.

The best Trump advisor Jason Miller could come up with in response was “what I’d like to see is a chart from Hillary Clinton showing where those emails went.

Watch courtesy of Media Matters for America:

BRIAN STELTER (HOST): Let me ask you about Trump holding up charts at his rallies. He says he’s a chart guy now, I love that line from him. This is an example. He was holding up a chart here, in some cases they’re printouts of Fox News graphics, but this one, this is actually from a fringe right wing website. He’s holding up a chart here that shows alleged donations from Middle Eastern countries to the Clinton Foundation. But if you look at this website, BeforeItsNews.com. This is a crazy website to be honest with you. It’s got alien stories, conspiracy theories, UFO stories, stuff like that. Anybody can post to that site. Who check this data ahead of time to make sure the sources are accurate and reliable?
 
JASON MILLER: Brian, on this particular chart, I haven’t seen that particular chart before, so I can’t comment on that.
 
STELTER: So who on the campaign gave it to him? Somebody printed it out, put it in his hands, and sent him up on that stage.
 
MILLER: But Brian, again, when we’re talking, so — two things here. Number one, on that particular chart, I have not seen that, these are usually produced with our policy department. But again, going to the point of what Mr. Trump is talking about, is how the American economy is going down and is not doing well under President Obama —
 
STELTER: He’s got a — but if we can’t — no. We can’t start with the facts. If he’s going to hold up made-up articles or made-up charts from fringe websites, how can we believe what he’s actually saying?
 
MILLER: Brian, again, are you saying that our economic growth right now is going in the right direction? Are you saying that American homeownership is in a good place right now?
 
STELTER: I’m saying that I want every presidential candidate — Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, every other candidate — to hold up charts that are accurate and that are well-sourced. I prefer for them to not rip them off the internet from creepy websites.
 
MILLER: Brian, what I’d like to see is a chart from Hillary Clinton showing where those emails went. That’s what I would like to see.
 
STELTER: So you think she that she should hold up charts as well. But that’s not the point of Donald Trump’s charts. Where is he getting this stuff, who’s vetting this stuff, before it goes up on stage?
 
MILLER: Brian you’ve already heard me give the answer, as far as I hadn’t seen that particular chart. But again, the point that Mr. Trump has been making is about the American economy. And if Hillary Clinton wants to own this third term under Obama, then she has to own the terrible economic record as well.

Trump’s connections to right wing conspiracy theorists is well-attested, from Roger Stone to Michael Savage. It is no secret that he and Alex Jones are in sync. With their help, and that of invented material from “creepy websites,” Trump is able to lie faster than most listeners can fact-check him.

When Stelter asks, “If he’s going to hold up made-up articles or made-up charts from fringe websites, how can we believe what he’s actually saying?” Miller, who when working for Ted Cruz used to tweet things like #sleazydonald, has no answer but to deflect the question with attacks on President Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump is finding it more difficult every day to hide behind his lies, and that is a big problem, and one that is sure to get worse as his attacks on the media continue.



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