On January 17, 2018, President Donald Trump released a list of eleven news companies deemed corrupt and unreliable via Twitter. Initially, the fake news awards were a way for the President to publicly shame the various news networks that he had been in constant tension with since the start of the presidency. Prior to the release of the list, the president posted a tweet stating “We should have a contest as to which of the networks… is the most dishonest, corrupt, and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite president (me)”, Trump stated. Trump set forth an offer that the network proved the least credible would be awarded with a Fake News Trophy, along with being recognized on his personal Twitter account.

The top of Trump’s list was reserved for none other than The New York Times, which was followed by ABC News and CNN, all networks that had constantly faced scrutiny by the President for exposing numerous corruptions present in the government along with inaccuracies in Trump’s statements and actions. CNN appeared on the notorious list four times, due to the president’s constant trife with reporters such as Jeff Zucker and Anderson Cooper and the company as a whole. In relation to Irvington, many students were looking forwards to viewing the fake news awards online, but were somewhat disappointed upon finding out that the awards were merely presented as a tweet. The president has accused CNN numerous times of attempting to slander the Trump administration along with reporting biased information. In response to the Fake News Awards, Arizona Senator Jeff Flake criticized the president.

“No longer can we turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to these assaults on our institutions,” Flake stated. “And Mr. President, an American president who cannot take criticism — who must constantly deflect and distort and distract”