Trump rips into 'lamestream media' amid rising COVID-19 cases in US

US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a scathing attack on 'lamestream media' and said one of the reasons that fake news has become so prevalent and far-reaching is the fact that corrupt “journalists” base their stories on sources that they make up to distort a narrative or story.

''One of the reasons that Fake News has become so prevalent & far reaching is the fact that corrupt “journalists” base their stories on SOURCES that they make up in order to totally distort a narrative or story. When you see, “five sources say”, don’t believe the story, it is very often FAKE NEWS,'' the president said in a tweet. 

Media should be forces to reveal sources, he said and added, if they did that, the media would be trusted again.

''Lamestream Media should be forced to reveal sources, very much as they did in the long ago past. If they did that, the media would be trusted again, and Fake News would largely be a thing if the past!,'' he said in another tweet.

Trump also accused the media of quoting unnamed sources that did not exist. 

''So much of the Lamestream Media is writing and broadcasting stories with facts that are made up and knowingly wrong. They are doing it by quoting unnamed sources that simply do not exist. These are very dangerous & corrupt people, who will do anything to win. NAME YOUR SOURCES!,'' he said in another tweet.

As of Friday the coronavirus had infected more than 100,000 people in the United States, now the world leader in cases of COVID-19, the illness named after the new virus was first identified in China late last year.