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. Laura Loomer: It was a “very grave mistake” when President Bush said “Islam is a religion of peace. We are not at war with Islam.”

    Video & Audio 10/24/25 1:56 PM EDT

  2. Fox News platformed several of the participants of a White House roundtable on antifa in the weeks leading up to the event

    Research/Study 10/24/25 1:26 PM EDT

  3. CBS Evening News fails to cover Trump's pardon of cryptocurrency executive with ties to Trump business venture

    Article 10/24/25 12:45 PM EDT

  4. Bret Baier touts CBS News’ move toward “more balance” and “coverage that’s fair”

    Article 10/24/25 12:22 PM EDT

  5. Media Matters weekly newsletter, October 24

    Narrative/Timeline 10/24/25 10:46 AM EDT

Pagination

  • Previous page ‹‹
  • …
  • Current page 95
  • …
  • Next page ››

In This Article

  • Donald Trump

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

Related

  1. Fox's Brit Hume on Greenland: “It's not entirely clear to me, at least, that what he's gotten here is any different from what he already had”

    Video & Audio 01/22/26 4:21 PM EST

  2. Media Matters weekly newsletter, January 23

    Narrative/Timeline 01/23/26 11:06 AM EST

  3. Right-wing media have relentlessly pushed the false claim that ICE is going after the “worst of the worst”

    Research/Study 01/23/26 8:35 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