Trump Defends Sinclair Broadcast Group

BALTIMORE, MD — President Donald Trump has come to the defense of Sinclair Broadcast Group twice in the past two days. Trump tweeted his support for the network, headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Hunt Valley, as other outlets question a TV spot in which local anchors decry the state of the media.

"Unfortunately, some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control exactly what people think," the anchors say. "This is extremely dangerous to our democracy."

Sinclair, which is affiliated with 193 stations across the U.S. and is seeking to acquire Tribune, has aired the roughly 80-second ad in dozens of markets nationwide, with broadcasters reading from the same script.

In it, local anchors say they are "concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country."

An analysis from media watchdog group Media Matters for America found that dozens of news stations — at least 66 across 29 states and Washington, D.C. — recited some version of the same script to their combined millions of viewers. And they’re all required to do so by Sinclair.

Timothy Burke, video director at Deadspin, spliced the numerous broadcasts into one, giant video. Deadspin released the compilation video on Saturday. It has since gone viral.

Sinclair responded Monday as other outlets called into question the mandated promotional spot.

"We aren't sure of the motivation for the criticism, but find it curious that we would be attacked for asking our news people to remind their audiences that unsubstantiated stories exist on social media, which result in an ill-informed public with potentially dangerous consequences," Sinclair's Senior Vice President of News Scott Livingston said.

The promotional material was designed to address the "troubling trend of false stories on social media..." Livingston told CNN, placing emphasis on the phrase "social media." Continued Livingston: "For the record, the stories we are referencing in this campaign are the unsubstantiated ones (i.e. fake/false) like 'Pope Endorses Trump,' which move quickly across social media and result in an ill-informed public. Some other false stories, like the false 'Pizzagate' story, can result in dangerous consequences. We are focused on fact-based reporting. That's our commitment to our communities."

As controversy brewed, Trump sent a tweet throwing his support behind Sinclair Monday.

The President added Tuesday morning that he believed other news networks were "Fakers" promoting "dishonest reporting."

The poll, also released on Monday, found that 77 percent of Americans believe "fake news" happens at least occasionally, which is an increase from 63 percent who reported feeling that way a year ago. According to surveyors, the term "fake news" means inaccurate reporting as well as editorial decision-making that promotes a false narrative.

"It is ironic that we would be attacked for messages promoting our journalistic initiative for fair and objective reporting, and for specifically asking the public to hold our newsrooms accountable," Livingston said. "Our local stations keep our audiences' trust by staying focused on fact-based reporting and clearly identifying commentary."

Patch editor Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Still from Deadspin video via YouTube