Opinion: Trump continues to falsely claim “fake news,” but he isn't fooling anyone

Fake news has been in the headlines since the results of the election came out in November; this term was closely related to incorrect news postings on social media sites, specifically Facebook. Fake news is also a term that has yet to stay out of President Donald Trump’s vocabulary. However, Trump seems to be slightly confused by the concept, as he has instead used the term to continue his tirade against news organizations that speak out against him.Trump has been in a battle with the media from a very early point in his campaign, feeling as though he has been unfairly illustrated by many media organizations. Most of his complaints rest against MSNBC, The Washington Post and The New York Times, historically left-leaning news sources. Meanwhile, Trump sings the praises of Fox News, a historically conservative media outlet.His latest plight has been against The New York Times in a series of tweets. He first attacked the media outlet stating it was “failing” and has “been wrong” about him throughout the whole election. He goes on to bring The Washington Post into his rampage, claiming the two organizations have “been so false and angry” when reporting about him. Trump then went on to mention the Times had to apologize to their “dwindling subscribers and readers.”Trump ends his rant about his media coverage by simply summarizing the Times as “DISHONEST.”  Trump clearly has no place in critiquing the media when he cannot even write grammatically correct tweets. Maybe this is the sign of a failing presidency; he should apologize to the country for his failing grammar and excessive use of capitalization.But alas, his poor grammar skills did not stop him from going after NYT just a day later, this time suggesting someone buy the failing media organization, and again referring to the media outlet as “FAKE NEWS.”  These comments are also coming from the man who claimed former President Obama was not a U.S. citizen for many years.Trump’s continuous useage of “failing” when discussing The NYT is also an interesting claim to look into. But according to Statista, the Times is anything but failing. The publication has actually been on the up and up since the first quarter of 2014, at least in terms of subscribers. If anything, Trump’s constant referral to the Times — and other similar media outlets — has only strengthened their viewership.His referral to them as “fake news” and “dishonest” has only influenced the people who are already dissatisfied with his position in office to further look into his deals and proposed legislation. The only people who listen to Trump’s claims of “fake news” are the citizens who have already swallowed up everything Trump told them during his campaign. Therefore, Trump is preaching only to his dedicated followers, who will believe any word coming out of his mouth no matter how badly spelled.Trump should focus his attentions on matters more important, such as the betterment of America, not on worrying how he is being portrayed in a media outlet that has been highly regarded since its creation in 1851.