Former President Donald Trump suffered a significant blow to his online influence when he was kicked off his social media platforms — something which he is currently challenging with a long-shot lawsuit.
But in the meantime, reported the Poynter Institute, Trump hasn't stopped disseminating his lies to the American people. He's just using new — albeit more traditional — methods.
"Since his exit from the White House, Trump has headlined political conferences, hosted rallies, held a press conference, given media interviews, made appearances with political allies, and issued written statements (often several a day)," reported Miriam Valverde. "More than that, these outlets have afforded him the same privilege that he once enjoyed on Twitter and Facebook: the ability to spread falsehoods without much pushback or restraint. Trump has exploited these opportunities to advance false and misleading claims about, among other things, the 2020 election and Jan. 6, when his supporters stormed the Capitol to block Congress' constitutional certification of the election results showing he lost to Joe Biden."
Among the most recent cases, he downplayed the Capitol riot and claimed the election was "stolen" in an interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, and given political speeches in which he falsely claimed President Joe Biden has "shut down" Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Indeed, Trump's lies have gotten so bad that even Fox News had to run a disclaimer over Trump's speech at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference.
"During his first campaign and his time in office, cable networks routinely aired Trump's daily movements and speeches live, misinformation and all. Some have since limited their coverage of Trump," said the report. "That has opened them up to charges of biased coverage or censorship of a major political leader. That's why media outlets have to do a better job of explaining to the public how they determine newsworthiness and why certain events are or are not covered, said Laura Castañeda, a professor of professional practice at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism."
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