Media (Mostly) in Unison on Fact Checking Trump Claim

President Donald Trump said Monday via Twitter that he has the power to overrule governors in ending statewide lockdown measures.

In a rare showing of fact-checking bipartisanship, news outlets located throughout the AllSides media bias ratings spectrum quickly vetted the statement, showing it to be incorrect and providing solid evidence of why.

From left to right, journalists and writers concluded that the president’s tweet was misleading at best. Outlets spread throughout the left and center sectors of the media published detailed reports explaining why the tweet wasn’t true, and outlets on the right side of political media joined them — even some that are typically more forgiving of the president.

As always, some variation remained. Explaining the president’s possible rationale (or lack thereof), interpretations of the Constitution and evaluations of prior court rulings often differed from outlet to outlet.

Headlines also differed from left to right. Many left- and center- rated reports were quick to paint the statement as outright “false” and Trump as ignorant of the law. Right-rated outlets were often more subdued in coverage, crediting Trump for purportedly taking responsibility while also concentrating on the lack of context around his statement, ultimately showing it to be inaccurate.

PolitiFact (Lean Left bias rating): "Trump’s false claim that it’s up to him — not governors — to open states"

CNBC (Center): "Why Trump’s claim that he has ‘total’ power to restart state economies is false"

The Washington Times (Lean Right): "Trump takes charge, asserts control over decision to re-open country"

All in all, the sentiment in coverage was pretty consistent across the spectrum. So why is that notable?

Fierce partisan battles happen daily, and not just within Congressional buildings on Capitol Hill. Between factions of online media, political agendas compete furiously while accusations of hypocrisy are traded as frequently as shares on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

But for this, the swords were dropped, if only for a moment. Details differed, but the media’s core conclusion was a consensus: the president told his 77 million Twitter followers something that wasn’t true, and a thorough correction was needed.

As some remain uncertain about the media’s effectiveness in times of crisis, such a consensus may be a step toward convincing readers that legitimate journalists really do have their audience’s best interest in mind.

When the country’s founders outlined press freedom in the U.S. Constitution’s very first amendment, this is exactly the type of thing they had in mind.

This piece was reviewed by John Gable (President, Lean Right bias), Julie Mastrine (Director of Marketing, Lean Right bias), and Samantha Shireman (Information Architect, Lean Left bias).