For many years now Donald Trump has been talking about the “fake news” crisis. In Ireland, the mainstream media has tended to scoff at such complaints. Certainly, they might think, no such term could possibly be applied by right-thinking people to RTÉ! 

A relative of mine recently made the mistake of switching the radio to RTÉ’s “Morning Ireland”, to catch the eight o’clock headlines. What he told me about what he heard on 12 August prompted me to listen to the episode myself. This is what I heard within the first three minutes of the program: 

“Democrats in the United States have accused President Donald Trump of a power grab after he said he would deploy National Guard troops to Washington D.C., and take control of its police. The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, said the move was ‘unsettling’, and denied the President’s claim that crime was out of control in the nation’s capital.”

This summary was followed immediately by an audio clip of Mayor Bowser, in which she claimed that there has been a “huge decrease in crime” since the spike after the Covid lockdowns. That was all. Why does this mere minute or so of morning radio merit our attention? After all, the clip was authentic, and the statements made by the reporter were factually true. What then is the issue? 

The issue is that this report was just a minor example of the so-called “fake news” phenomenon. “fake news”, despite popular belief, does not necessarily entail news reports being fabricated, but simply manipulated. What is the actual story here? The story should be that the US President has announced his plans to take control of the Washington D.C. police and deploy the National Guard all in an effort to suppress crime in the city. This is an important story, certainly, though of limited relevance to the Irish population. But that is not how RTÉ – at the head of their program, which will for many be where they take their views on the subject – chose to report it. 

They chose not to make the real story the headline, but instead, what certain people think about the story. RTÉ might object that the main story is contained in the headline summary, and could also say, fairly, that to report on the city mayor’s reaction was perfectly valid. The issue, however, is one of framing and balance. 

Yes, it was right to report the reaction of Democrats, but it should have come after the main story had already been announced. Not only this, but there should be balance between the two sides of the argument. In the headline summary, RTÉ seemed to be subtly sending the message that the Mayor’s characterisation of the President’s action was correct, and that the action itself was unfounded. 

It was in fact some 18 minutes into the episode that the actual story was finally reported. Even here, however, “Morning Ireland” accused President trump of painting “a dystopian picture” of the city of Washington, before moving on immediately to the mayor’s reaction and defence. Not one clip of President Trump speaking or defending his own case was played. 

RTE’s bias lies not in the fabrication of facts, but in its choice of which facts to report, and how to report them. RTÉ will refrain from reporting pure and obvious lies. It will, however, discreetly push aside or even fail to report on stories which might present facts regarded as unpalatable. As a result, Mayor Bowser’s view is pushed to the forefront of the story, while President Trump’s actual order is sidelined. 

The Mayor’s opinion should be respected and acknowledged, but why was it presented without a single clip of Trump explaining his reasoning, or even a quote longer than a few words? It is difficult to resist concluding that RTÉ does not want you to hear the President’s defence, or any opinion on the story other than Mayor Bowser’s (or one aligning with it), because God forbid anyone should listen to and consider fairly both sides of the dispute. 

Simply put, it seems that RTÉ believes – and wants you to believe – that the opinions it pushes to the front of the story are the right ones, and the ones that all normal and decent people endorse. When “Morning Ireland” calls the US President’s description of Washington D.C. “dystopian” and, without presenting further argument from him, gives the opposing side airtime to argue why the President is wrong, it would not be unreasonable for the average listener to form an opinion strongly favouring the opposing view (which likely matches that of the RTÉ staff writing the headlines). 

Across all of its stations, RTÉ remains among adults the most-listened-to news platform currently on radio, and RTÉ Radio 1 – which hosts “Morning Ireland” – sits at the top of the crop with 1.4 million weekly listeners. All of this is to say that it is a serious problem when an organisation like RTÉ starts reporting news in the above manner. Not only is it paid for out of the taxpayer’s pocket, but it has a massive influence over the Irish population. If 1.4 million people are being told weekly about the many different reasons that government officials think President Trump is a dictator, they will probably begin to believe it is true without putting any more thought into it. 

It should be added: I am not suggesting that RTÉ should bow down and kiss President Trump’s boots. It may be that what Mayor Bowser says is true, or even that Trump is in fact a dictator of a kind, or at least aspires to be. However, that should be up to each of us to decide using our reason supported by the complete facts. If a person does believe President Trump to be all that RTÉ seems to believe him to be, then that person should be able to back up that belief with solid facts and rebuttals to any objections that might be made. As this minor incident demonstrates, RTÉ does not seem interested in giving its listeners the complete picture. 

It is possible that the writers and reporters over at RTÉ are not even aware of the slant they are putting on this story, but take it for granted that President Trump is wrong and everyone who opposes him is much more worth listening to. I have grave doubts that anyone in the RTÉ newsroom, if they had been given the chance to vote Trump for President in 2024, would have given even a moment’s consideration on the matter. This is why, even when reporting facts, RTÉ is “fake news” too. 

Fortunately, the solution to this problem is simple: stop listening.

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Patrick Vincent writes from Dublin