The aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, a race subject to Russian misinformation spread on social media, saw the rise of the term “fake news.” This phrase, popularized by those on the left and right alike, describes news that is untrustworthy or biased, according to the individual’s own opinions.
Sinclair Broadcast Group is the largest TV station operator by number of stations, operating 173 nationwide, and area covered. It has been criticized for it’s right-leaning coverage, and recently, was put in the spotlight for giving all of its anchors a mandatory script discussing fake news in a way that agreed with, and built on, the President’s rhetoric.
These “must-run” scripts are frequently sent out to the stations Sinclair owns. The must-run that caught national attention discussed the rise of false information in mainstream media. The frequency of this same piece was pointed out by a slightly left-leaning group Deadspin in a video of every version of the segment being played at the same time.
The increased focus on Sinclair Broadcast Group could hurt the group’s potential buy-out of Tribune Media, a deal which could, according to the Washington Post, extend the group’s reach to 72% of American homes.

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"Despite the majority of news being liberally biased, this form of manipulation from an “overpowered” national level to the local level is unsettling." --Vignesh Kumar, freshman