Real News Update

Last updated

Real News Update
Trump TV Title Card.png
Genre Campaign advertising
Starring Lara Trump
Kayleigh McEnany
Katrina Pierson
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes110
Production
Production locations Trump Tower
New York, New York
Original release
ReleaseJuly 30, 2017 (2017-07-30) 
March 15, 2020 (2020-03-15)

Real News Update was a weekly webcast that lasted from July 30, 2017, to March 15, 2020, to support the Presidency of Donald Trump and his 2020 presidential campaign. The show was available on Donald Trump's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts and was hosted by Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump. It was presented in the form of a short newscast lasting from one to five minutes and delivered updates on the accomplishments of the Presidency of Donald Trump. [1]

Contents

Background

Lara Trump played an integral role in the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump and was regarded by many as a 'secret weapon' in securing a Republican Party victory in North Carolina that year, in support of her father-in-law. [1] [2] [3]

Following Donald Trump's inauguration in January 2017, she disparaged the mainstream news media for excessively negative coverage of Donald Trump's presidency. [2] [4] She also criticized CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC for refusing to air a May 2017 advertisement that listed President Donald Trump's accomplishments during his first 100 days as president. [5]

Lara began work on Donald Trump's re-election effort shortly after his inauguration, working alongside Michael Glassner. [2] By March 2017, she was hired as a senior consultant by the digital vendor for Donald Trump's campaign and would quickly become a prominent figure in his 2020 presidential campaign. [3] [6]

Vox has speculated that Real News may be a partial fulfillment of Donald Trump's plan to launch his own news network, an idea that has been dubbed 'Trump TV'. [7]

Launch/ending

Real News Update launched its first video via Facebook on July 30, 2017, featuring an introduction by Lara Trump in which she states, "I bet you haven't heard about all the accomplishments the president had this week because there's so much fake news out there. We wanted to give you a glimpse into his week." [8]

In an interview shortly after the show's launch, she explained that the show's objectives were to serve as an outlet for under-reported positive news of Donald Trump's presidency and to curtail the general public's dependence on mainstream media. [1] [6]

The show ended in March 2020 around the time of start of government restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic appearing in the United States.

Production

The webcasts were funded by the Trump 2020 re-election campaign and filmed in a studio on the 15th floor of Trump Tower. [9] While Lara Trump was the primary anchor of the program, various other media and political figures also hosted the show, including Joy Villa, Steve Rogers, and Harlan Hill. [10] [11] [12]

Kayleigh McEnany, who later served as President Trump's press secretary, also hosted the program on August 6, 2017, one day after leaving her position at CNN. [13]

Reception

Political analyst Jeff Greenfield likened Real News Update to the "long and if not entirely noble tradition" of political campaigning, [14] though Dylan Byers at CNN remarked that it differs from previous political campaign media in seeking to discredit mainstream media and to advertise itself as a reliable alternative. [15]

BuzzFeed and Snopes reported that, despite the stated objectives of Real News, various news items on the program, such as Trump's donation of his second-quarter salary to the Department for Education and Foxconn's plans to build a factory in Wisconsin, did, in fact, receive coverage in mainstream media. [16] [17]

Digital news website Salon criticized the webcast as political propaganda. [18]

Aaron Blake of The Washington Post described an episode of Real News Update as "real spin, at best" and that it "felt a lot like propaganda -- or state TV." [19]

Comedian and The Late Show host Stephen Colbert similarly likened the program to "state-sponsored propaganda", and compared it to his show's recurring sketch Real News Tonight—a newscast presented with an exaggerated bias towards Trump. He proceeded to present an edition of the sketch that was interspersed with clips from Real News Update, with the anchors referring to Lara as being its new "special correspondent". [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox News</span> American conservative cable news channel

The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owned by the Fox Corporation. It is the most-watched cable network in the U.S., and as of 2023 generates approximately 70% of its parent company's pre-tax profit. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan. Fox News provides a service to 86 countries and territories, with international broadcasts featuring Fox Extra segments during advertising breaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Roberts (journalist)</span> Canadian-television journalist (born 1956)

John David Roberts is a Canadian-American television journalist currently working for the Fox News Channel, as the co-anchor of America Reports. Roberts formerly worked as the Fox News Chief White House Correspondent from 2017 to 2021, covering the Donald Trump presidency.

<i>Fox & Friends</i> US television program

Fox & Friends is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, Brian Kilmeade and Lawrence Jones on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Duffy and Pete Hegseth host on weekends.

<i>Breitbart News</i> American far-right news and opinion website

Breitbart News Network is an American far-right syndicated news, opinion, and commentary website founded in mid-2007 by American conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart. Its content has been described as misogynistic, xenophobic, and racist by academics and journalists. The site has published a number of conspiracy theories and intentionally misleading stories. Posts originating from the Breitbart News Facebook page are among the most widely shared political content on Facebook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Bolling</span> American journalist and political commentator (born 1963)

Eric Thomas Bolling is an American television personality, conservative political commentator, author, and financial commentator. He has occupied numerous roles as a commentator on financial issues for television, most notably for Fox News. He hosted Fox Business Channel's Cashin' In and Fox News Channel's The Five before leaving in May 2017. An outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, Bolling has published two books: Wake Up America (2016) and The Swamp: Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism and How Trump Can Drain It (2017).

The Cable News Network (CNN), is an American basic cable and satellite television channel owned by the CNN Global division of Warner Bros. Discovery. Upon its launch, CNN became the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and was the first all-news television network in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RT America</span> Part of the RT TV network that folded in 2022

RT America was a U.S.-based news channel headquartered in Washington, D.C. Owned by TV Novosti and operated by production company T&R Productions, it was a part of the RT network, a global multilingual television news network based in Moscow and funded by the Russian government. The channel said it reached an audience of 85 million people in the United States, but this figure is disputed. It was distributed through select cable providers, over-the-top services, a live stream through its website, and three low-power digital subchannels. Since the channel's closure, viewers who tune into the cable channel or their live stream are being shown a live feed of an RT International broadcast instead.

<i>Outnumbered</i> (American TV program) American television series

Outnumbered is an American daytime news and talk show that airs weekdays on Fox News at 12 p.m. ET. The program features hosts Harris Faulkner, Emily Compagno, and Kayleigh McEnany, along with a female guest panelist and a male guest panelist, where they discuss the news and issues of the day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond and Silk</span> Former American political commentary duo

Ineitha Lynnette Hardaway and Herneitha Rochelle Hardaway Richardson, known as Diamond and Silk, respectively, were a pair of American conservative political commentators and vloggers. They are known for their support of former U.S. president Donald Trump. Both have served as contributors for conservative news channel Newsmax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayleigh McEnany</span> American political commentator and author (born 1988)

Kayleigh McEnany is an American conservative political commentator, television journalist, and writer who served the administration of Donald Trump as the 33rd White House press secretary from April 2020 to January 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Wilson (political consultant)</span> American political strategist

Frederick George "Rick" Wilson is an American political strategist, media consultant, and author based in Florida. A former member of the Republican Party, he has produced televised political commercials for governors, U.S. Senate candidates, Super PACs, and corporations.

False news websites in the United States target American audiences by using disinformation to create or inflame controversial topics such as the 2016 election. Most fake news websites target readers by impersonating or pretending to be real news organizations, which can lead to legitimate news organizations further spreading their message. Most notable in the media are the many websites that made completely false claims about political candidates such as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, as part of a larger campaign to gain viewers and ad revenue or spread disinformation. Additionally, satire websites have received criticism for not properly notifying readers that they are publishing false or satirical content, since many readers have been duped by seemingly legitimate articles.

Fake news in the United States is the fostering and spread of false information in the United States, whether it is from blogs, newspapers, websites, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fake news</span> False or misleading information presented as real

Fake news or hoax news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue. Although false news has always been spread throughout history, the term "fake news" was first used in the 1890s when sensational reports in newspapers were common. Nevertheless, the term does not have a fixed definition and has been applied broadly to any type of false information. It's also been used by high-profile people to apply to any news unfavorable to them. Further, disinformation involves spreading false information with harmful intent and is sometimes generated and propagated by hostile foreign actors, particularly during elections. In some definitions, fake news includes satirical articles misinterpreted as genuine, and articles that employ sensationalist or clickbait headlines that are not supported in the text. Because of this diversity of types of false news, researchers are beginning to favour information disorder as a more neutral and informative term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign</span> 2020 presidential campaign

Donald Trump, the then incumbent president of the United States for the Republican Party, led an unsuccessful campaign for the 2020 United States presidential election. He was inaugurated for his first term on January 20, 2017, and officially announced his re-election campaign on June 18, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Parscale</span> Former campaign manager for Donald Trump (born 1976)

Brad Parscale is an American digital consultant and political advisor who served as the senior adviser for data and digital operations for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign. He previously served as the digital media director for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and as campaign manager for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign from February 2018 to July 2020, being replaced by Bill Stepien. In September 2020, he stepped away from his company and the Trump campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lara Trump</span> American television producer (born 1982)

Lara Lea Trump is an American former television producer who is married to Eric Trump, third child of Donald Trump. She was the producer and host of Trump Productions' Real News Update and a producer of Inside Edition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social media use by Donald Trump</span>

Donald Trump's use of social media attracted attention worldwide since he joined Twitter in May 2009. Over nearly twelve years, Trump tweeted around 57,000 times, including about 8,000 times during the 2016 election campaign and over 25,000 times during his presidency. The White House said the tweets should be considered official statements. When Twitter banned Trump from the platform in January 2021 during the final days of his term, his handle @realDonaldTrump had over 88.9 million followers. On November 19, 2022, Twitter's new owner, Elon Musk, reinstated his account, although Trump has stated he will not use it in favor of his own social media, Truth Social. The first tweet since 2021 was made in August 2023 about his mugshot from Fulton County Jail, but the account has since remained inactive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaitlan Collins</span> American journalist

Kaitlan Collins is an American journalist who currently serves as news anchor on CNN. She is the former co-anchor of CNN's This Morning, and is the current host of its 9 PM slot The Source with Kaitlan Collins since July 2023. She also served as the network's White House Correspondent until 2022. Previously, she was the White House correspondent for the website The Daily Caller.

<i>The Beat with Ari Melber</i> News and politics show on MSNBC

The Beat with Ari Melber is an American news and politics program hosted by Ari Melber, who is the chief legal correspondent for the network MSNBC. It airs weekdays at 6 PM ET and is one of the "most-watched news programs on cable."

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lara Trump becomes face of Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign". The Telegraph. October 19, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Glueck, Katie (June 16, 2017). "The face of Donald Trump's 2020 campaign". McClatchy D.C. Bureau. Retrieved March 4, 2018. And by early 2017, Lara Trump was already working on the re-election effort alongside Michael Glassner, who is running the campaign committee
  3. 1 2 Bykowicz, Julie (March 29, 2017). "Lara Trump Hired by Trump Campaign's Digital Vendor". U.S. News & World Report LLC. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  4. Patterson, Thomas E. (May 18, 2017). "News Coverage of Donald Trump's First 100 Days". Shorenstein Center, Harvard Kennedy School. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  5. Bauder, David (May 5, 2017). "CBS, NBC also refuse to air Trump advertisement". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Lemire, Jonathan (October 19, 2017). "Lara Trump Becomes Early Central Figure In President's Re-Election Bid". TPM Media LLC. AP. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  7. Williams, Garet (August 2, 2017). "Trump now has a "real news" program on his Facebook, hosted by his daughter-in-law". Vox. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  8. "Morning News Brief: North Korea's Nuclear Threat, Trump TV". NPR. August 9, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  9. Vitali, Al (August 7, 2017). "Fake News? Trump Launches 'Real News' Series". NBC News. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  10. Joy Villa (September 21, 2017). Joy Villa - Weekly Update 9.21.17 (YouTube video). Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  11. Lara Trump, Steve Rogers (April 30, 2019). Real News Insights w/ Steve Rogers (YouTube video). Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  12. Harlan Hill (September 25, 2017). Harlan Hill - Bipartisanship (YouTube video). Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  13. "Commentator Kayleigh McEnany Moves From CNN to Anchor Pro-Trump 'News of the Week' Segment". Variety Media. August 6, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  14. Byers, Dylan (August 6, 2017). "Kayleigh McEnany appears in pro-Trump 'news' video after leaving CNN". CNN. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  15. Byers, Dylan (August 2, 2017). "Trump launches 'real news' Facebook series to combat mainstream media". CNN. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  16. Koerner, Claudia (August 2, 2017). "Trump Has Launched A "Real News" Program On His Facebook, Hosted By His Daughter-In-Law". BuzzFeed.
  17. Garcia, Arturo (August 2, 2017). "Trump Administration Launches 'Real News' Online Show". Snopes . Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  18. Sheffield, Matthew (November 22, 2017). "Lara Trump is building a propaganda empire on Facebook". Salon. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  19. Blake, Aaron (August 7, 2017). "Trump TV's 'real news' sounds more like real propaganda". The Washington Post .
  20. Delk, Josh (August 5, 2017). "Colbert parodies Lara Trump's 'Real News' program". The Hill. Retrieved June 20, 2019.