Skip to main content
  • Online media
  • Tariffs
  • Epstein
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • 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
  • Twitter
  • 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. Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich on Trump-Putin press conference: “It did not seem like things went well. … Putin came in and steam rolled”

    Video & Audio 08/15/25 8:04 PM EDT

  2. Media Matters wins preliminary injunction against retaliatory FTC investigation

    Article 08/15/25 6:46 PM EDT

  3. Charlie Kirk: “I'm still in touch with people from Greenland. I'm trying to be careful because I'm not a government official, so I don't want to get too involved in all that stuff.”

    Video & Audio 08/15/25 2:10 PM EDT

  4. Right-wing streamer says Trump should release Epstein files, and “if he's on the list, just take it off”

    Video & Audio 08/15/25 11:08 AM EDT

  5. Tim Pool calls Obergefell v. Hodges same-sex marriage decision “unconstitutional and psychotic”

    Video & Audio 08/15/25 11:02 AM EDT

Pagination

  • Previous page ‹‹
  • …
  • Current page 33
  • …
  • Next page ››

In This Article

  • Donald Trump

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

Related

  1. Media Matters weekly newsletter, September 19

    Narrative/Timeline 09/19/25 10:41 AM EDT

  2. Jimmy Kimmel and the MAGA strong-arming of American media

    Article 09/18/25 12:00 PM EDT

  3. Cada Tarde host says Trump would commit a “ridiculous act” if he withdrew troops from the Caribbean without a confrontation with Maduro

    Video & Audio 09/17/25 4:11 PM EDT

Media Matters for America

Sign up for email updates
  • About
  • Contact
  • Corrections
  • Submissions
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • RSS

© 2025 Media Matters for America

RSS