Sinclair Forces Small-Market Anchors To Read Trump Propaganda Message
Reprinted with permission from Shareblue.com
Americans in hundreds of cities and towns no longer have the choice to turn off Trump TV, as Trump’s propaganda message is being fed to them secretly through their own local broadcasting.
Most Americans know that Fox News is a pro-Trump propaganda channel, but far fewer know about Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which owns or operates 173 local stations nationwide.
The company began Trump’s presidency already in the tank for him, and has become increasingly brazen in its pro-Trump propaganda efforts.
Most recently, Sinclair stations around the country are being forced to read a script that echoes Trump’s “fake news” mantra, and includes an eerily familiar slogan. The lengthy script concludes with the declaration that “We work very hard to seek the truth and strive to be fair, balanced, and factual.”
The phrase “fair and balanced” has become synonymous with Fox News, and with right-wing media more broadly, a dead giveaway that Sinclair’s message is about more than a benign pledge of accuracy.
Sinclair is every bit the propaganda outfit that Fox News is, if not more so. Prior to Trump’s inauguration, the company struck a deal with the campaign to provide more favorable coverage, and stands to greatly expand its footprint if Trump’s administration approves their deal to purchase The Tribune Company.
Sinclair has forced local stations to air commentaries by former Trump campaign staffer Boris Epshteyn, including a defense of Trump’s reaction to white supremacists following nationwide criticism of his remarks. Epshteyn’s response left out the fact the the criticism came from Trump’s praise of Nazis as “very fine people.”
Sinclair also forces local stations to air “terror alert desk” segments designed to induce anxiety about foreigners, just as Trump has done to boost his hateful immigration policies.
Fox News has been around long enough that most people have caught on to their “fair and balanced” lie, but Sinclair is much more insidious about their propaganda. And if Trump has his way, millions more Americans will be exposed to their hidden messages.
