Skip to main content
  • Online media
  • Tariffs
  • Epstein
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • RSS
  • Take Action
  • Search
  • Donate

Media Matters for America

  • News & Analysis
  • Research & Studies
  • Audio & Video
  • Archives

Media Matters for America

  • Nav
  • Search
  • News & Analysis
  • Research & Studies
  • Audio & Video
  • Archives
  • Online media
  • Tariffs
  • Epstein
  • Take Action
  • Search
  • Donate
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Donald Trump and Twitter

Ceci Freed / Media Matters | Gage Skidmore via Creative Commons

Mainstream media organizations repeat Trump’s lie justifying new tariffs

Other reports debunk Trump’s claim that governments of Argentina and Brazil devalued their currencies

Written by Zachary Pleat

Published 12/02/19 12:36 PM EST

President Donald Trump on Monday announced on Twitter new tariffs targeting steel and aluminum shipments from Argentina and Brazil, claiming the countries “have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies.” Twitter accounts of NBC News, CBS News, PBS, and CNN uncritically repeated Trump’s claim, even though other reporting contradicts it.

Trump’s announcement has not yet turned into formal policy and reportedly surprised Brazil’s president. Just as Trump’s invocation of national security to justify earlier tariffs was bogus, his latest claim also appears contrary to the facts. According to Axios’ coverage of the announcement, both countries’ currencies “are freely traded and have been for years” and “have weakened because of political upheavals and dwindling growth forecasts in the two countries — not government intervention.” The Washington Post’s article on Trump’s announcement pointed to the latest biannual Treasury Department report on currency manipulation that “did not allege Brazil or Argentina had done anything improper in handling their currencies.”

Yet tweets from four broadcast and cable news networks passed on Trump’s lie justifying his action, continuing a pattern of major news outlets repeating Trump’s misinformation to their audiences:

The Latest

  1. CBS joined Fox and Newsmax in ignoring Trump's pardon of donor's son

    Research/Study 05/29/25 4:52 PM EDT

  2. Fox has been covering a trans high school athlete in California for months. Now it looks like Trump is posting about her.

    Research/Study 05/29/25 4:39 PM EDT

  3. Fox discussions of court ruling on Trump's unlawful tariffs go off the deep end: “The global deep state is real”

    Article 05/29/25 4:10 PM EDT

  4. Fox correspondent lays out bad news for Trump's tariffs: “Basically everything” has been found to be “illegal in some way”

    Video & Audio 05/29/25 2:14 PM EDT

  5. Charlie Kirk: “Yesterday, when I was with President Trump ... I said you need to crush Harvard in its current form”

    Video & Audio 05/29/25 1:30 PM EDT

Pagination

  • Previous page ‹‹
  • …
  • Current page 305
  • …
  • Next page ››

In This Article

  • Donald Trump

    Donald-Trump-MMFA-Tag.png
  • Tariffs / Trade

Related

  1. Fox & Friends really does not want viewers to understand that Trump’s tariffs are taxes paid by Americans

    Article 02/25/26 4:07 PM EST

  2. PBD Podcast panelist tells his mother to “never vote again” after she criticized Trump's State of the Union address

    Video & Audio 02/25/26 11:55 AM EST

  3. UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell says Trump is “compromised” and “protecting” Epstein's associates

    Video & Audio 02/24/26 1:59 PM EST

Media Matters for America

Sign Up for Email Updates
  • About
  • Contact
  • Corrections
  • Submissions
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • RSS

© 2026 Media Matters for America

RSS