Sinclair shares anti-CNN video across all its news sites

The YouTube clip attacks the news organisation for what it calls 'dishonesty and hyprocrisy' in its reporting on Sinclair

The Sinclair Broadcast Group has posted links to a YouTube video which attacks CNN on the websites of its local affiliates.

The Sinclair-produced video, linked to the websites for WBFF, WNUV, and WUTB, bears the title: "Did CNN attack Sinclair for doing exactly what CNN has done for years?"

The broadcasting company, which owns more than 170 US TV stations, recently came under fire after reportedly ordering its presenters to claim that the media was behaving in a way that was "extremely dangerous to democracy", echoing Donald Trump's own attacks on "fake news".

This new video now launches an attack on CNN for what it calls "dishonesty and hypocrisy" in its reporting on Sinclair's actions, featuring clips of CNN reporter Brian Stelter in 2016 and 2017 warning about the spread of "fake news", attempting to equate his comments with Sinclair's own broadcast messages.

However, what Sinclair's video fails to address is how the meaning has shifted: with Trump latching onto genuine concerns about the spread of hoax stories by little-known websites planted on social media specifically to influence voters during the 2016 election and turning the phrase into an attack on mainstream media.

The original promos, which began airing two weeks ago, are part of a campaign by Sinclair to warn of the dangers of "one-sided news stories plaguing our country" and have been met with widespread criticism.

The producer of a morning show on a TV station in Nebraska owned by Sinclair resigned over the mandated messages, known as "must-runs" amongst local producers, adding: "This is almost forcing local news anchors to lie to their viewers. Making the local anchors do this was a big concern for me. I didn't go into news to give people biased information."

Donald Trump rushed to Sinclair's defence, writing on Twitter that the organisation was "far superior" to the like of CNN and NBC.

Sinclair released a statement in reaction to criticism which read: "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."

"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. Our local stations keep our audiences’ trust by staying focused on fact-based reporting and clearly identifying commentary."

The Sinclair Broadcasting Group has been contacted for comment.

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