On Sunday morning, Ian Bremmer, an author, and professor, with almost half a million Twitter followers, tweeted a fake quote which he attributed to the U.S President. He later deleted the tweet after receiving backlash from other journalists and political analysts and President Trump tweeting about the dangers of fake news. Trump has since called for libel laws to be modified so that they hold journalist more accountable.
Fake News
Yesterday, Bremmer tweeted a quote attributed to the president, “Kim Jong Un is smarter and would make a better President than Sleepy Joe Biden.” His tweet quickly gained traction and was, at first, believed by many, but soon became the product of severe backlash. After the quote was questioned by his followers, Bremmer simply replied that it was “plausible,” but did not confirm that he had made up the tweet.
When you put out a fake Trump quote without any indication you were making it up, and then blame the readers for not realizing you were making the quote up.
Nice work, @ianbremmer. You’re only helping the cause of people like Trump who want to label everything “fake news.” pic.twitter.com/BYYKmNmDNU
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) May 26, 2019
He later followed up on his original tweet, apologizing for any confusion and saying it had just been “in jest.” He also deleted his initial tweets.
My tweet yesterday about Trump preferring Kim Jong Un to Biden as President was meant in jest. The President correctly quoted me as saying it was a “completely ludicrous” statement. I should have been clearer. My apologies.
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) May 27, 2019
Ludicrous Quote
President Trump, who was in Japan at that time, joined the conversation on Monday morning, saying that this is “what’s going on in the age of Fake News.” He continued by saying that something should be done to stop journalists from publishing fake news, hinting that the libel laws should be changed to hold more people accountable.
.@ianbremmer now admits that he MADE UP “a completely ludicrous quote,” attributing it to me. This is what’s going on in the age of Fake News. People think they can say anything and get away with it. Really, the libel laws should be changed to hold Fake News Media accountable!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2019
This isn’t the first time Trump has called for a change in libel laws but in the past, Brian Hauss, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, has said that the authority to change those laws falls under the state’s jurisdiction and not the federal. [1]
Notes:
- ^Ishwar, Shivani. “President Trump calls for a change in libel laws to ‘hold Fake News Media accountable’.” The Week, 27 May. 2019, theweek.com/speedreads/843751/president-trump-calls-change-libel-laws-hold-fake-news-media-accountable. (go back ↩)
