A new poll is out and it’s not good for the fake news media. A plurality of GOP voters (43%) say that the president should have the power to shut down news outlets that engage in bad behavior. 21 percent of independents and 12 percent of Democrats also agreed with this statement. If you continually flip a coin, it will never come up heads or tails every time.
So the possibility that news outlets such as CNN, PMSDNC and the New York Times, who use the excuse that their fake news is just mistakes does not wash. If it were just mistakes, at least a couple would favor President Trump, but in every case, they are meant to hurt him. Fake news outlets know that people remember the fake reports on page one but not the retraction on page 43.
The poll also showed that the American public’s trust in the media continues to erode overall, especially among self-identified Republicans. Overall, only a small plurality (46 percent) indicated that they believe that “most news outlets try their best to produce honest reporting,” including a paltry 23 percent of Republicans.
Also, 29 percent of respondents agreed with President Donald Trump’s frequent contention that “the news media is the enemy of the American people,” including nearly half (48 percent) of Republicans.
Also, the poll revealed that a large majority of Americans — 73 percent — agree with the statement, “it should be easier to sue reporters who knowingly publish false information.” This echoes one of Trump’s frequent refrains on the 2016 campaign trail, when he promised to look into changing libel laws to make suing reporters easier if he became president.
Every month, the people’s faith in the media erodes a little more. If that trend were to continue, the numbers could be overwhelming. But the possibility that these news outlets will decide to clean up their act is very unlikely. They will try to continue being propaganda outlets for as long as they can.
That will not change until they have no choice but to submit to printing and reporting the truth.