July 17, 2024, New York, NY — The NY Post received more links than any other news outlet from former president Donald Trump, according to TheRighting’s analysis of his June 2024 link activity. The Murdoch-controlled newspaper was linked to 46 times last month, up from just seven times in May.
Altogether, three other Murdoch-controlled news brands –Fox News Channel, Foxnews.com and The Wall Street Journal, ranked in TheRighting’s top 10 most-linked-to media outlets.
According to TheRighting’s exclusive research based on examining hundreds of links and ReTruths on his Truth Social account and his website DonaldJTrump.com, Mr. Trump more than doubled his link activity in June. Last month, Mr. Trump linked to the websites and social media accounts of news brands 469 times. In May, Trump linked only 192 times.
President Joe Biden’s alarmingly poor performance at the late June debate triggered a deluge of Trump links to negative articles on both sides of the aisle. From the start of the debate on June 27 through the end of the month Trump posted 76 links to right wing and mainstream news outlets. During this period, Trump linked most to CNN (16 times). He also posted links to four different clips of him and Biden purportedly showing his golf skills and Biden’s frailty.
Compared with May, when TheRighting first analyzed Trump’s links, the ex-president significantly increased his linking to mainstream media in June, especially CNN, The New York Times, NBC and MSNBC. “This surge in linking to mainstream media in June reflects the mainstream media’s massive negative coverage of Biden’s disastrous debate performance,” said Howard Polskin, President of TheRighting. “Trump will link to mainstream media outlets if it suits his messaging and is critical of his adversaries. Otherwise, he brands these outlets ‘fake news,’ which unfortunately accelerates the public’s distrust of media at a time when democracy is imperiled.”
While Trump clearly favored linking to Murdoch-owned media outlets in June, he continued spotlighting little known right wing fringe sites like RSBN (39 links) and Real America’s Voice (34 links). However, he also linked to more offbeat sites like Bitcoin Magazine, which called him “the best choice for Bitcoin,” and two links to the conservative satire website The Babylon Bee.
Among the notable right wing websites that Trump ignored in June were Infowars, Frank Speech, The Daily Wire, and OAN, which often broadcasts Trump’s rallies including the July 14 event in which Trump was wounded.
TheRighting discovered that Mr. Trump has branded sections on his Truth Social account called Weakness Wednesday, Biden Lies and Biden Failure Friday, which points out President Biden’s gaffes and alleged weaknesses.
“In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on the ex-president, it’s fair to wonder if Trump will tone down the rhetoric of his posts and dramatically decrease the volume of links to some of the most extreme outlets on the right,” said Polskin. “TheRighting will be watching closely this summer.”
Research associate: Jojo Wertheimer
