Trump Supporters Asked to Choose 'King of Fake News'

The "Fake News contest" that President Trump tweeted about last month is now a reality. The Trump campaign emailed supporters Thursday, asking them to choose the fakest news story of the year, USA Today reports. "Americans are sick and tired of being lied to, insulted, and treated with outright condescension," the email says. "That's why President Trump is crowning the 2017 KING OF FAKE NEWS." It adds: "There's no point in pretending that some journalists are anything more than peddlers of falsehoods and liberal propaganda." Trump's November tweet said the contest should pick which network, "plus CNN but not including Fox," had the most dishonest coverage of "your favorite President (me)" and should "receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY."

The email includes a poll with three stories: An ABC report that Trump told Michael Flynn to contact Russian officials before the election, a CNN report that Trump and Donald Trump Jr. had access to hacked emails from WikiLeaks, and a Time report that Trump removed a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. from the Oval Office. Participants can also suggest other stories. The Hill reports that all three stories listed were either retracted or corrected. A poll carried out after Trump first suggested a "Fake News" trophy found that 40% would award the trophy to Fox. CNN was runner-up with 25%, and MSNBC third with 9%. (In October, Trump said "fake" was "one of the greatest terms" he had come up with.)