President Trump spent part of his Sunday evening on Air Force One doing something that Washington reporters never seem to expect, calling out the media to their faces. The topic this time was Iranian propaganda and the curious habit some American outlets have of repeating it like it came straight from Mount Sinai.
The President accused leftwing media organizations of pushing Iranian disinformation, suggesting the behavior could even cross into criminal territory. In a Truth Social post around the same time, President Trump went even further, arguing that media outlets knowingly spreading false information from a hostile regime should face “Charges for TREASON for the dissemination of false information.”
That kind of language tends to send the cable news crowd into a full emotional meltdown. Still, the broader point he raised is not exactly complicated. When the United States is in the middle of a conflict with a hostile regime, amplifying that regime’s propaganda is not exactly a public service.
President Trump addressed the issue directly while speaking with reporters on the plane. “Iran is known for a lot of fake news, and they deal with our fake news, and I actually think it’s pretty criminal because our media companies, who have no credibility whatsoever, are putting out information that they know is false, and it’s a very dangerous thing for the country,” he said. “I think they could be in serious jeopardy, frankly.”
The controversy stems from a series of questionable reports and viral images circulating online, many of them originating from Iranian sources. Iran has reportedly been using AI generated images and videos to create the illusion of battlefield success and widespread public support. One of the more absurd examples involved fake imagery claiming the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier had been attacked and set ablaze.
According to President Trump, that attack never happened. “They used AI. They said they attacked the USS Abraham Lincoln, one of the largest ships in the world, an aircraft carrier, and they show pictures of it burning. It was never attacked. It was never burning,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tried to spin a very different story during a CBS appearance. Araghchi claimed Iran never sought negotiations and suggested the conflict exists purely because President Trump “wants to have fun.” That kind of rhetoric might play well on state controlled television in Tehran, but it does not exactly pass the laugh test anywhere else.
President Trump also rejected the idea that Iran had been seeking peace. Over the weekend he stated he had turned down a proposed deal to end the war, explaining that “The terms are not good enough yet.”
Another flashpoint came after a Wall Street Journal headline claimed five U.S. refueling aircraft had been struck in an Iranian attack in Saudi Arabia. President Trump blasted the report as intentionally misleading, saying the planes were largely undamaged and already back in service.
“In actuality, the Base was hit a few days ago, but the planes were not ‘struck’ or ‘destroyed,’” President Trump wrote. “Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service. One had slightly more damage, but will be in the air shortly.”
He then delivered a blunt assessment of the media ecosystem pushing those stories. “The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (in particular), and other Lowlife ‘Papers’ and Media actually want us to lose the War.”
That comment will obviously outrage the usual crowd of commentators. At the same time, the bigger issue remains sitting right in front of everyone. When a hostile government pumps out AI propaganda and parts of the American media repeat it with little skepticism, somebody should probably start asking uncomfortable questions. President Trump just happens to be the one asking them out loud.
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