They say news never sleeps—and in the case of Sinclair Broadcast Group—neither does fake news.
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is a telecommunications company that owns the largest number of TV stations in the country. With 173 stations and 81 broadcasts across the country, Sinclair is at the top of the media food chain. Sinclair’s stations are affiliated with ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, a Trump administration favorite.
It was recently discovered, however, that this media giant has been sending out the same stories and scripts to all of the stations it owns. A recent video published by Deadspin shows various news stations relaying the same message word for word. The video features many different news anchors reciting the same script. Ironically enough, all these news stations were telling their audiences about the dangers of biased news reporting.
Sinclair has been reported as being a right-winged organization, and while a group is entitled to its own opinion, the issue with Sinclair is that it is requiring its stations to run stories that share more conservative rather than neutral views. Sinclair’s actions creates an issue with reliability and honesty as Sinclair’s stations are simultaneously telling its viewers to stay away from biased media while supplying them with just that.
Trump’s crusade against the media and “fake news” has been embodied by Sinclair. With control over so many news stations, Sinclair can spread as much of their “truth” as they see fit. This presidency is notorious for its war against the news, and Sinclair can be considered its ally.
In the video published by Deadspin, various anchors say, “We are concerned about the various one-side stories plaguing our country” and that “the sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media,” which is “extremely dangerous to our democracy.”
The irony of the situation is just too good to be true. If biased reporting is putting our democracy in danger, then Sinclair is responsible for that as well. Viewers look to the news to get the truth about the political situation in our country, which is difficult to follow in and of itself. With biased reporting being shared by such a large group as Sinclair, it will become difficult to understand what is true and what is, quite literally, fake news.
With Sinclair controlling so much of what information gets out to the public, it is clear that the broadcasting group is the real threat to our democracy.