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. Daily Wire host: “Civil rights are just leftism in blackface”

    Video & Audio 04/28/25 8:46 AM EDT

  2. Sean Hannity on Kilmar Abrego Garcia: “It is so obvious to me that this guy deserves what he got”

    Video & Audio 04/25/25 7:32 PM EDT

  3. Fox News reacts to FBI arrest of Wisconsin judge: “This may be signs of an incoming crackdown on what the Trump administration considers ... rogue judges”

    Video & Audio 04/25/25 12:35 PM EDT

  4. By the numbers: As Trump snubs legacy media, data shows his press briefings elevate right-wing outlets

    Research/Study 04/25/25 12:32 PM EDT

  5. On MSNBC's The 11th Hour, Angelo Carusone describes how right-wing narrative dominance in online spaces is helping to keep Republicans from speaking out on the devastation of Trump's tariffs

    Video & Audio 04/25/25 12:21 PM EDT

Pagination

  • Previous page ‹‹
  • …
  • Current page 350
  • …
  • Next page ››

In This Article

  • Donald Trump

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

Related

  1. You can’t celebrate the First Amendment with Donald Trump

    Article 03/03/26 11:48 AM EST

  2. Fox host Bret Baier: “I just got off the phone with the president. ... He points to Venezuela as a template” for Iran

    Video & Audio 03/02/26 4:47 PM EST

  3. In response to Iran strikes, Nick Fuentes calls the Trump administration “an illegitimate regime”

    Video & Audio 03/01/26 10:40 AM 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