“Has Trump said this isn’t true?”
Point well taken, but even when a fake news story is based on truth, that doesn’t change my point.
The point of a disinformation campaign is to do damage to the enemy, in this case, Trump.
Do you deny that this is the MSM’s intent, to damage Trump?
Do you deny that this is the effect, to damage Trump?
The truth can be twisted and put into the wrong context, so that even though it is technically true, it is fake news. In fact, fake news is more effective propaganda when it is based on something true - it is easier to sell that way.
Example: Trump said he respected Putin’s strength as a leader - he said he could get along with Russia. There is not a single thing wrong with those statements. Many leaders throughout history have expressed respect for their enemies. We know that it is foolish to underestimate one’s enemies, and what is opposite of underestimation? Respect. Many leaders have counciled keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. That’s all Trump was saying.
Yet, the left proceeded to engage in a disinformation campaign to twist Trump’s expressions of respect for, and getting along with Putin into some sort of collusion with Russia, or failure to recognize them as an enemy.
That was all fake news, even though nobody disputes the fact that Trump said those things.
Same with these communications - they are made into news stories for the express purpose of putting Trump in a bad light.
As for the so-called leaking problem, ask yourself what happened when “sources close to the Obama administration” had loose lips (which happened just as often). Nothing, that’s what. The MSM had no interest in blowing it up into a smear campaign against Obama, so it went nowhere.
Since there was no story, there were no anonymous sources, no leakers, no leak problem.
So, my point with the fake leakers is the same as my point with the fake news: there may have been people who passed this information on, but it only becomes a “leak problem” in the Trump administration because of the nonstop MSM disinformation campaign. The same event or statement would have gone nowhere in the Obama administration.
It’s the MSM constantly twisting routine nothingburgers into fake news drama by attaching some sinister significance to it that isn’t really there.
I think Bush, Obama, & Trump’s fandom of Putin is very misplaced. I look forward to the day we have a president who will dictate to the Russian leader, not toady up to him like those three.