‘This is Not Reality!’: CNN’s Stelter Sounds Alarm Over Newsmax, OAN Boost Amid Trump’s Baseless Election Attacks

Ken MeyerNov 15th, 2020, 12:26 pm
 

In his latest Reliable Sources monologue, CNN’s Brian Stelter warned of a possible rise of disinformation in America as President Donald Trump continues to tell his supporters to consume more television from right-wing media outlets.

Stelter began by looking at Trump’s continued effort to dispute the 2020 election results, plus the president’s supporters who held the “Million MAGA March” in Washington to join the president in protesting the vote. The CNN host remarked that these Trump supporters have been “deceived” by “an entire constellation of websites and talk shows” that churn up disinformation and deny the results just like the president.

I don’t want to call it an alternative reality anymore because it is not reality. There is nothing real about this. But in this fictional parallel universe, the election was rigged. It was stolen out from under Trump, and Trump was the rightful winner. This is the new birtherism. We are going to be reckoning with the consequences of these lies for years.

After looking at how Trump’s legal team keeps pushing their evidence-free mass voter fraud claims despite numerous setbacks in court, Stelter switched gears and said that Fox News’ “monopoly” over the right-wing media atmosphere “is starting to break apart.” This comes as Trump and his supporters repeatedly slammed Fox in recent weeks for not being positive enough in their Trump coverage, plus the president has been urging people to watch Newsmax and One America News Network instead.

In recent days, reports have suggested that Trump wants to seek vengeance on Fox by pursuing a media venture that would raise competition against the network. In the meantime, Stelter pointed out that Newsmax and OANN have seen a considerable viewership jump lately, plus they’ve refused to join Fox and other reputable outlets in calling the race for Biden.

“This is real,” Stelter said. “This is something real that’s happening. Not among all Fox viewers. The network’s ratings are still very high, but there is a balkanization going on, a breaking up of right-wing media, with some Fox fans giving up on the channel and going elsewhere instead.”

In the past few days, Trump has promoted both Newsmax and OANN while bashing Fox News and claiming that their daytime ratings have plummeted. But as Stelter noted, even with a number of Trump supporters turning on the network, they’re still getting huge post-election ratings.

After airing numerous Newsmax/OAN figures disputing the 2020 results, Stelter warned “this is not reality. This is not an alternative reality. This is a parallel universe of disinformation.” Since Trump continues to promote Fox’s opinion hosts though, Stelter assessed that Trump “doesn’t want news, he wants propaganda.”

Watch above, via CNN.

UPDATE — 3:15 pm ET: A graphic that aired during Stelter’s segment included a number of news outlets and personalities ranging from leaning conservative to way out in the fringes. One outlet listed there was the Daily Caller, and editor-in-chief Geoffrey Ingersoll took to Twitter firing back at Stelter, pointing to fact-checks they’ve ran in recent days:

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