WikiLeaks has hit out at the White House as a source of false information following Donald Trump's so-called Fake News Awards.
The awards, which were announced on Wednesday evening (and saw Newsweek take a very respectable eight place), singled out The New York Times, ABC and CNN for the top spots—but WikiLeaks took the time to remind Trump that his own administration was a "frequent" source of fake news.
" While @WikiLeaks, as a primary source organization with a perfect verification record welcomes debate over "fake news" it should be noted that along with the U.S. establishment press, the Trump administration is a frequent source of false information. #FakeNewsAwards," the organization wrote on Twitter late Wednesday evening.
Comment: While @WikiLeaks, as a primary source organization with a perfect verification record welcomes debate over "fake news" it should be noted that along with the U.S. establishment press, the Trump administration is a frequent source of false information. #FakeNewsAwards
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 18, 2018
After having a dig at Trump's White House, WikiLeaks then went on to share a number of stories it believed had been contenders for the awards.
The awards themselves have been slammed not only among members of the press, but by those concerned that the "fake news" awards link led people to the site of the Republican National Committee; which presumably should have more on its mind than who has, or has not, criticized the president.
The website itself crashed following Trump's announcement; an apology then appeared stating: "The site is temporarily offline, we are working to bring it back up. Please try back later."
However, the results soon appeared back online, as the president tweeted: "Despite some very corrupt and dishonest media coverage, there are many great reporters I respect and lots of GOOD NEWS for the American people to be proud of! "
This is where the link to the “Fake News” awards that Trump tweeted out takes you. Really. pic.twitter.com/8MafsF4TXp
— Steve Bass (@sbassopb) January 18, 2018
WikiLeaks was not the only entity to question Trump's suitability to criticise the media, given his team's propensity to make questionable suggestions (microwave cameras, anyone?).
Indeed, when the Committee to Protect Journalists hosted the Press Oppressors Awards last week, It gave Trump himself an award for "Overall Achievement in Undermining Global Press Freedom."
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